The Road Not Taken
by Annaleise Marie
Summary: Ten years ago, Edward left Bella. Faced with two options, she chose to stay behind and start a new life with Jacob. Now, she's been given the chance to go back and make the other choice and see what could have been. J/B then E/B full summary inside.
1. Past and Present

**The Road Not Taken  
**by Annaleise Marie

**Summary**: Ten years ago, Edward left Bella to go to Italy. Faced with two options, she chose to stay behind and start a new life with Jacob. Now, she's been given the chance to go back and make the other choice and see what could have been. Once she comes back, she'll get to choose one past, to make one present. Which road will she choose? J/B and E/B

**Chapter One**: Past and Present

**AN**: So I guess this is what I get for letting ideas pile up in my head and not writing them. Three stories in progress at once. Gah. Well, I have come up with an update schedule to keep track of them all, so no worries.

We're just going to ignore the fact that Edward went to Italy to get the Volturi to kill him, and pretend he just went to... get away. Okay? Okay.

I own a pair of snazzy white skinny jeans which I refuse to wear, but I don't own Twilight. That's the property of Stephenie Meyer.

---

"TSUNAMI!"

"Oof," Bella groaned as the small body of her son, Finn, made firm contact with her stomach. "Finn, that hurt."

"I'm being a tsunami," Finn chirped, grinning widely, his dark hair falling into his eyes. Bella smoothed it back, trying to hide a smile.

"Well, you shouldn't sneak up on sleeping people like that."

"Tsunamis do."

"Well..." Bella trailed off, unsure of how to answer that. "Well, that's true," she admitted slowly. "But tsunamis don't get to go to the zoo with Mommy and Daddy today." Finn's eyes widened. "So I guess I'll just have to find a kid to go with us."

"I want to go!" Finn announced.

"Sorry, they probably won't let a tsunami in. We'd be better off to take Jenny," Bella answered, sticking her tongue out at Finn. Seth and Rachel already had plans to take Jenny to see Billy for the day, but Finn didn't know that.

"No! I'm not a tsunami! I'm a human!" Finn protested, and Bella felt her stomach lurch. _Human_.

"Well, okay, if you're sure," Bella said, forcing a smile. "Let me get up then, so I can get dressed." Finn hopped down off of the bed and Bella climbed out after him, walking to the closet. "Where's your dad, honey?" she asked Finn.

"The garage," he answered immediately and Bella groaned, pulling a long-sleeved blue shirt and a pair of jeans out of the closet.

"Okay. Well, why don't you go ask him to help you get ready for the zoo, and I'll make breakfast," she instructed. "And Finn," she added as she heard him start to thunder toward the stairs, "if he won't come out of the garage, you can be a tsunami."

Finn broke into a wide grin and flew down the stairs as Bella quickly shucked her nightgown and pulled on her clothes for the day, brushing her hair out and securing it in a ponytail before venturing down to the kitchen to start breakfast.

"TSUNAMI!" She heard the loud cry from the other side of the wall, followed by a crash and hastily self-censored curses from Jacob. She bit back a laugh, pulling eggs from the fridge as the garage door opened and Finn tromped in, followed by Jacob, who was covered from head to toe in...

"Is that oil?" Bella asked.

"Yup," Jacob answered.

"I was a tsunami, Mommy! Just like you said!" Finn announced proudly. Jacob's eyes flitted from him to Bella, and a scheming grin flitted across his face.

"Just like Mommy said, huh?" he said slowly, stepping towards Bella, who backed up further into the counter. "So this was your idea?"

"Well, not exactly," she said quickly as he advanced on her. "And, you know, I got woken up by the tsunami! I feel your pain!"

"Oh, you do?" he said, his grin widening as his hand flew out and grasped around her wrist, pulling her suddenly against him. She tried to jump back from the mess, but he held her with an arm around her waist, and she felt her clothes sticking to his with the thick oil. His lips found hers, thankfully oil-free, and she smiled, raising up on tiptoe to meet the kiss.

"Gross!" Finn exclaimed and Bella laughed into Jacob's mouth. He jerked back, startled.

"Oh, sorry," she said before looking down at herself. Her clean outfit was now caked in thick black oil. "Jacob," she gasped. "Look what you did!"

"Oops," he said, grinning. "Guess we'll all have to get cleaned up. Finn, go take a shower, okay?" he said and Finn ran off to the guest bathroom. "And you and I better take one too," he finished, grinning as he followed Bella upstairs to the master bathroom.

---

Bella collapsed into bed that night with a groan.

"Never again," she swore. "We're never taking him to the zoo again. They have enough wild animals there without him."

"Oh come on, it was a good day," Jacob said, pulling on a pair of pajama pants.

"You didn't have to go claim him from the security office after he snuck away and decided that the wolves would make good friends," Bella pointed out.

"Can you really blame him?" Jacob asked, grinning. "I mean, wolves can be pretty awesome."

"Uh-huh, well, you _would _think so," Bella teased. It had been years since Jacob had last phased, the threat to humans having disappeared shortly after he had learned what he was. Still, even though Billy had assured her that Finn would never phase, as long as the humans remained unthreatened, his increasing fascination with wolves worried her.

"I seem to recall you thinking so, too," he teased back, tracing his lips from her shoulder up to her jaw. She shivered. "And I think you still do."

"You think so?" she returned, moving her head to the side to allow him better access to her neck, shuddering when she felt his teeth scraping along her sensitive skin as one of his large hands trailed up her thigh to slip under her nightgown, ghosting his fingers teasingly over her thighs. She gasped and arched her back, bringing her torso flush with his as she pulled him down, catching his lips with hers and teasing his bottom lip with her teeth.

At that moment, her phone rang, the shrill tone breaking through the lust-induced haze. She groaned in disappointment, reaching over to the nightstand for the device.

"Bella, leave it," Jacob said. She shook her head.

"You know I can't. It could be work," she said, shooting him an apologetic look. As nursing supervisor at the local hospital, she was always on call.

"Hello, this is Bella Black," she answered it, trying to keep the annoyed edge out of her voice.

"Bella Black, huh? Guess I _have _been away a long time," the soft female voice answered.

"Who is this?" Bella asked. There was something familiar about the trill of the voice.

"Alice," they answered and Bella felt a lump forming in her throat.

"Listen, I'm kind of busy right now and I can't--" she started. It had been too long. It had taken her long enough to force the Cullens from her mind, she didn't need them to start showing up again.

"Your son's on his way to your room. You'll have time. I need to talk to you. Please, Bella," Alice said hurriedly. Bella inhaled sharply.

"Bells?" Jacob asked quietly. Bella shook her head, waving her hand to tell him that it was nothing.

"Okay," she said into the phone.

"Thank you, Bella," Alice said. "It will only take a minute. Well, kind of."

Bella was about to ask about that cryptic statement when the phone beeped to signal that the call had ended. She set the phone down.

"What was that about?" Jacob asked, is brow furrowed. Bella opened her mouth to answer when there was a quiet knock at the bedroom door.

"Mommy!" Finn, true to Alice's word, wailed through the door. "I had a bad dream! Can I sleep with you and Daddy?"

Bella sighed and got out of bed, smoothing her nightgown as she walked to the door to let Finn in. He barreled through the door and grabbed onto her legs, burying his head in her nightgown. He was visibly shaking and when she placed her hand under his chin to point his face up hers, she saw tears shining in his eyes.

"Finn, what scared you so badly?" she asked. He had had nightmares before, like all children, but not like this. He would wake up frightened, sure, but this was a bit extreme.

"It was dark, and I was running and there was something behind me and it moved so fast and I couldn't get away and I tried to find you and Daddy but I couldn't and it almost got me and it was big and scary and it had bright red eyes," he wailed, the tears finally falling down his face. Bella's heart skipped a beat. The thing in his dream...

She had to go see Alice.

"It's okay, it was just a dream," she said, trying to keep her voice steady and soothing. "Why don't you go get in bed and I'll make you some warm milk."

Finn ran to the bed, immediately cuddling up to Jacob, whose eyes were fixed on Bella. She knew he had made the connection, too.

Bella all but flew down the stairs, bursting out of the door and staring wildly around, her eyes struggling to adjust to the dark. Suddenly, she was hoisted off of her feet and she was flying through the night at an incredible speed, the trees of the nearby woods rushing by her.

A vampire had her, she realized, but before she could even think to scream, much less take any further action, she was back on her feet, her head spinning from the speed. A cold hand held her steady for a moment before releasing her, and suddenly Jasper and Alice were standing in front of her.

"Jeez, could you guys not do that?" she demanded, running her hands nervously through her hair.

"We had to get you away from the house," Alice explained. "I wondered why I couldn't see you, only smell you. And that explains it. You married Jacob?" she demanded.

"Is that a problem for you?" Bella spat. What right did they have to come back after all of these years, after just disappearing the way they did, and make demands of her?

"A little, yeah," Jasper said.

"What business is it of yours? And why are you even back? You must've gone through a lot of trouble to track me down if you couldn't see me, so why... Wait. You couldn't see me in the house. How did you..." She looked from Jasper to Alice, both of their features perfectly expressionless, but she knew better. "You," she hissed at Jasper. "_You _gave him that nightmare. You're the reason he was so scared. How _dare _you..."

She felt a wave of calm washing over her and she tried to fight against it. "No! You don't get to come back and mess with me and my family! That's not how this works!"

"Bella, just listen," Alice said, her voice pleading now. "We know that you have a different life now, and we didn't come back to ruin it. Finn will be fine."

"And a _vampire_, of all things! You made him dream about a _vampire_?" she continued, ignoring Alice.

"I didn't make him dream about anything in particular. He's the son of a werewolf. When I made him panic in his sleep, he must have sensed that I was a vampire," Jasper said calmly.

"That's right!" Bella ranted on. "He's the son of a werewolf! Do you know what you two being here could do? As long as you stay away, he won't have to phase! He won't have to go through everything that Jacob and the others did! But no, you just waltz back in, without thinking about how you're affecting others!"

"Bella--" Alice started.

"No! I don't want to hear it!" Bella spat. "Now, I'm going home, and I want you two to go back to South America or Italy or... North Korea or wherever you've wound up by now!" she finished and then turned on her heel, planning to walk back to the house, only to discover that she wasn't on a trail, and the thick trees pushing in on her from either side were making it impossible to tell which way she was even facing. "Oh, that is really dirty," she hissed.

"We'll take you back, if that's what you want," Alice said, her voice still pleading. "Just listen to us first, okay? Please?"

Bella clenched her teeth hard, staring daggers at the two vampires. Alice obviously took her silence as acquiescence, and started speaking.

"We haven't seen Edward since he left Forks. None of the vampires have. Even the Volturi have lost tabs on him. We need you to help us," she said.

"If no vampire can find him, what makes you think I can? And furthermore, why should I?" Bella retorted. "He left me, in case you've forgotten. He told me that he didn't want me anymore. That I wasn't good for him, that he didn't..." Her breath caught in her throat and she forced out the next words. "He told me that he didn't love me!" she screamed, thankful that they were so far from the house. It had been so long since she had aired out this wound, and now she felt like screaming and crying. It was residual pain, nothing more, but she still didn't want Jacob to witness it.

"He still loved you," Jasper said calmly. "Or, he did the last time any of us saw him."

"That doesn't matter! What's done is done and I'm not getting into this world again. I'm done, okay? I was done the night that he left me in the woods and never came back," Bella protested, trying to repress the insistent sting of that old wound.

"What if I told you that you could change what he did?" Alice asked. "Would you help us then?"

"If, in theory, you could undo what's been done, then yes, I would. But as talented as you are, you're not magic, and no matter how fast you can go, you can't travel back in time. So it's kind of a moot point," Bella said.

Alice pulled something from the pocket of her jeans. Bella strained her eyes to see it in the dark and discovered that it was a ring box.

"This," Alice started to explain, "is the ring of Alria. It can take you back in time, in a way."

"In a way?" Bella asked. She had learned long ago that it was entirely possible for presumed myths to be real, so now she was more interested in the disclaimer of sorts.

"Well, it doesn't work the way you would think time travel does. Say you went back a year. You wouldn't remember anything that happened in the year between now and then. You would literally be going back," she elaborated. Bella eyed the ring box cautiously.

"So, what exactly is it you want me to do?" she asked.

"We want you to go back to that day and follow Edward to Italy," Alice said timidly.

"Why? And how? Who's to say I won't just make the same choice over again? I won't remember this, will I?"

"No," Alice conceded. "But I will. Or rather, I'll see it. And I know me. I'll come find you and make sure you go after him."

"You just think I'm some puppet, don't you?" Bella snapped.

"Bella, please!"

"Okay. Say I do go back, and I go after Edward. I would be giving up my life now, a life I love, a _son_ I love, for a life that I don't know if I'll be happy with. Why would I take that risk?" Bella asked.

"We'll bring you back, when it's over, and you'll be able to remember both versions of your life to this point, and you'll be able to choose which life you want. If you really want this life, you can go right back to it, and you won't remember any of this. There's no risk to you, and we really need your help," Alice said, the pleading tone back in her voice.

"Why can't you find him, Alice? Why can't you see Edward?" Bella asked, already suspecting the answer. She had been holding that question for last, considering the possible answers.

"We think... He may be gone," Alice admitted. "We just need you to save him, Bella, before that happens, if it happened. You don't have to give up your life now!"

"It'll be like I didn't leave? Jacob and Finn won't know I was gone?" Bella asked, eying the ring box again.

"If you choose to keep this life, you'll go right back to when Finn knocked on your door," Alice assured her.

Bella took a deep breath, her eyes closed as she considered her options.

"Okay," she said, her eyes fluttering open. "I'll do it."

---

AN: Sooooo, what do you guys think? /shuffles feet

I'd really like feedback, if you'd be so kind. :3


	2. Leaving and Setting Out

******The Road Not Taken  
**Annaleise Marie

**Chapter Two**: Leaving and Setting Out

**AN**: So I didn't have another update scheduled until next Monday, but **Maliha R Pattinson'**'s response to the story, I decided to go ahead and write another one. Her enthusiasm blew me away. :3

So, the first part of this chapter is of course chapter three of New Moon, pages sixty-eight to seventy-three, and that is of course written by Stephanie Meyer. I simply changed it to third person. You may skip that part if you choose. I didn't really want to put it in at all, but I read through the chapter without it, and it just didn't flow right. There is more to the chapter after that part, though, so don't worry, it's not a wasted chapter.

Anyway, Maliha, here's to you!

I own a Subaru Forester that's breaking down and doesn't go much past getting me to work, but I don't own Twilight. That would be Stephanie Meyer.

---

"What do I do?" Bella asked, taking the ring box that Alice was now holding out to her.

"Put the ring on. Then, you need to _want_ to go back to that night, with all of your heart. If you don't concentrate on that, well... we're not really sure exactly where you'll end up," Alice explained, glancing sheepishly at Bella.

"And if I don't really want to go back, and go through that again?" Bella asked.

"Don't think about it like that. Think of it as going back to a time when you and Edward were in love, and this is your chance to save him. Just think about that," Jasper said. Bella raised an eyebrow skeptically, but closed her eyes, trying to will herself to feel that way.

Feelings came sweeping back as she slipped the ring on, most prominent of which was a swelling in her chest, like her heart was about to explode. She couldn't decide if it was painful or exhilarating. An edge of fear tinged her conscience. What if she couldn't save Edward?

No, that wasn't a possibility, she thought as she slipped the ring onto her right ring finger. She had to save him. Even if she didn't choose that life, she couldn't let Edward die, or disappear, or whatever had happened to him.

---

Edward leaned against a tree and stared at Bella, his expression unreadable.

"Okay, let's talk," Bella said. It sounded braver than she felt.

Edward took a deep breath.

"Bella, we're leaving."

She took a deep breath too. It was an acceptable option. She thought she was prepared. But she had to ask.

"Why now? Another year--"

"Bella, it's time. How much longer could we stay in Forks, after all? Carlisle can barely pass for thirty, and he's claiming thirty-three now. We'd have to start over soon regardless."

Bella was confused by his answer. She thought the point of leaving was to let his family live in peace. Why did they have to leave if the others were going? She stared at Edward, trying to understand what he meant, and he stared back coldly. With a roll of nausea, Bella realized that she'd misunderstood.

"When you say _we_," she whispered.

"I mean my family and myself." Each word was separate and distinct.

Bella shook her head back and forth mechanically, trying to clear it. Edward waited without any sign of impatience. It took a few minutes before Bella could speak.

"Okay," she said. "I'll come with you."

"You can't, Bella. Where we're going... It's not the right place for you."

"Where you are is the right place for me."

"I'm no good for you, Bella."

"Don't be ridiculous." She wanted to sound angry, but it just sounded like she was begging. "You're the very best part of my life."

"My world is not for you," he said grimly.

"What happened with Jasper, that was nothing, Edward! Nothing!"

"You're right," he agreed. "It was exactly what was to be expected."

"You promised! In Phoenix, you promised you would stay--"

"As long as that was best for you," Edward interrupted to correct her.

"_No! _This is about my soul, isn't it?" Bella shouted, furious, the words exploding out of her – somehow it still sounded like a plea. "Carlisle told me about that, and I don't care, Edward. I don't care! You can have my soul. I don't want it without you. It's yours already!"

Edward took a deep breath and stared, unseeingly, at the ground for a long moment. His mouth twisted the tiniest bit. When he finally looked up, his eyes were different, harder – like the liquid gold had frozen solid.

"Bella, I don't want you to come with me." He spoke the words slowly and precisely, his cold eyes on Bella's face, watching as she absorbed what he was really saying.

There was a pause as Bella repeated the words in her head a few times, sifting through them for the real intent.

"You... don't... want me?" she tried out the words, confused by the way they sounded, placed in that order.

"No."

She stared, uncomprehending, into his eyes. He stared back without apology. His eyes were like topaz – hard and clear and very deep. Bella felt like she could see into them for miles and miles, yet nowhere in their bottomless depths could she see a contradiction to the words he'd spoken.

"Well that changes things," Bella said, surprised at how calm and reasonable her voice sounded. It must be because she was so numb. She couldn't realize what he was telling her. It didn't make any sense.

Edward looked into the trees as he spoke again. "Of course, I'll always love you... in a way. But what happened the other night made me realize that it's time for a change. Because I'm... _tired _of pretending to be something I'm not, Bella. I am not human." He looked back and the icy planes of his face were _not_ human. "I've let this go on much too long, and I'm sorry for that."

"Don't." Bella's voice was just a whisper now; awareness was beginning to seep through her, trickling like acid through her veins. "Don't do this."

Edward just stared at her, and she could see from his eyes that her words were far too late. He already had.

"You're not good for me, Bella." He turned his earlier words around, and so Bella had no argument. How well she knew that she wasn't good enough for him.

She opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it again. Edward waited patiently, his face wiped clean of all emotion. Bella tried again.

"If... that's what you want," Bella forced out. Edward nodded once.

Bella's whole body went numb. She couldn't feel anything below the neck.

"I would like to ask one favour, though, if it's not too much," Edward said. Bella wondered what he saw on her face, because something flickered across his own in response. But, before she could identify it, he'd composed his features into the same serene mask.

"Anything," Bella vowed, her voice faintly stronger.

As she watched, his frozen eyes melted. The gold became liquid again, molten, burning into hers with an intensity that was overwhelming.

"Don't do anything reckless or stupid," he ordered, no longer detached. "Do you understand what I'm saying?" Bella nodded helplessly. "I'm thinking of Charlie, of course. He needs you. Take care of yourself – for him."

Bella nodded again. "I will," she whispered, and Edward seemed to relax just a little.

"And I'll make you a promise in return," Edward said. "I promise that this will be the last time you'll see me. I won't come back. I won't put you through anything like this again. You can go on with your life without any more interference from me. It will be as if I never existed."

Bella's knees must have started to shake, because the trees were suddenly wobbling. She could hear the blood pounding faster than normal behind her ears. Edward's voice sounded farther away.

He smiled gently. "Don't worry. Your human – your memory is no more than a sieve. Time heals all wounds for your kind."

"And your memories?" Bella asked. She felt like there was something stuck in her throat, like she was choking.

"Well," – he hesitated for a short second – "I won't forget. But _my_ kind... we're very easily distracted." He smiled. The smile was tranquil and Bella felt like it didn't touch his eyes. He took a step away from her. "That's everything, I suppose. We won't bother you again."

The plural caught Bella's attention. That had surprised her; she would have thought that she was beyond noticing anything.

"Alice isn't coming back," she realized. She didn't know how he heard her – the words made no sound – but he seemed to understand.

"No. They're all gone. I stayed behind to tell you goodbye."

"Alice is gone?" Bella's voice was blank with disbelief.

"She wanted to say goodbye, but I convinced her that a clean break would be better for you," Edward answered.

Bella was dizzy. It was hard to concentrate. Edward's words swirled around in her head, and she heard the doctor at the hospital in Phoenix last Spring, showing her the X-rays. _You can see it's a clean break_, his finger traced along the picture of her severed broken bone. _That's good. It will heal more easily, more quickly._

She tried to breathe normally. She needed to concentrate, to find a way out of this nightmare.

"Goodbye Bella," Edward said in that same quiet, peaceful voice.

"Wait!" She choked out the word, reaching for him, willing her dead legs to carry her forward. She thought he was reaching for her, too. But his cold hands locked around her wrists and pinned them to her sides. He leaned down, and pressed his lips to her forehead for the briefest instant. Bella's eyes closed.

"Take care of yourself," he breathed.

There was a light, unnatural breeze. Bella's eyes flashed open. The leaves on a small vine maple shuddered with the gentle wind of his passage.

He was gone.

---

Bella didn't know how long she stood there. Time had ceased to mean anything to her. She felt numb, disbelieving. It wasn't until she heard the crunching of leafs and twigs on the ground underfoot that she was snapped out of her thoughts. The numb feeling was still there, but she was more aware as her eyes scanned the darkness, trying to make out any shapes.

_Had Edward come back? Had it all been a sick joke? _She didn't care. She'd forgive him anything, any cruelty if he would just come back and tell her that he still wanted her.

But it wasn't Edward approaching, she saw as the figure became more distinct. Her heart, which she had almost believed to be dead now, leaped as she saw who it was.

Alice Cullen was coming through the trees towards her, her expression surprised and slightly confused, but slightly changing to grim resolve as her eyes focused on Bella.

"Alice," Bella croaked, struggling to find her voice, "I thought... Edward said you weren't coming back."

"I wasn't," Alice admitted quietly. "But I was keeping an eye on you, and suddenly the future changed. I can't see what caused it, but..."

"What is it, Alice? What did you see?"

"That's not important, Bella," Alice said. "I'm not sure enough yet to say anything. I just knew I had to come back. Please trust me."

Bella thought about it, forcing the wheels in her mind to start turning once more. Alice had come back, after all. She had seen that Bella had needed help, and she had come back instead of abandoning her. Of course she could trust her. If there _was _a Cullen she could trust, it was Alice.

"No matter what happens, Bella, I need you to trust me. I won't do anything, or tell you to do anything that will hurt you," Alice promised. Bella nodded slowly.

"What... what's going to happen?" she asked.

"I don't know, exactly," Alice said, furrowing her brow. "I just know what we have to do to start it. Can you be ready to go tomorrow morning?"

"Where are we going?" Bella asked.

"Italy."

"Why?"

"I don't know yet," Alice answered, furrowing her brow once more in concentration. "So will you be ready to go tomorrow?"

"What do I tell Charlie?" Bella asked, amazed that this concern penetrated her foggy mind.

"Don't worry about Charlie. He'll be out of town. I called in a favour from some of our more... traditional acquaintances." Bella turned this information over in her mind.

"Okay," she said finally.

---

"Where have you been, Bells?" Charlie asked when Bella came through the door.

"Out. With Edward," she said, trying to sound normal. If she didn't, Charlie didn't seem to notice.

"It's late. I was getting worried. I was about to call the boys down from La Push to help me find you."

"I was just in the woods," Bella said, shrugging. Looking around, she spotted a suitcase by the door. "Going somewhere, Dad?" she asked, hoping to stop his questions. She wasn't sure how long she could hold it together if the interrogation continued.

"I have to go down to Oregon. There have been a lot of attacks down there. Looks like the work of the same people who were up here. They're calling in every available officer, and I got selected to go from Forks. Don't know why they'd send the chief, but well, there you have it."

"How long will you be gone?" Bella asked.

"Until the attacks stop, or the people responsible are captured."

Alice was good, Bella had to give her that. The police would never find the people responsible. Her favour had bought them all the time they could possibly need.

But how much time would that be? And what were they doing? Why were they going to Italy?

She went to bed that night with these questions swimming through her head.

---

**AN**: It is very important to remember in this story that Bella does not remember anything about being married to Jacob, or going back in time. To her, she's living all of this for the first time. I am toying with the idea of deja-vu, though. I'd love to hear your thoughts on that idea. Yes or no?

Feedback is always incredibly appreciated, and I will always reply.

Thank you for reading!

And again, thank you so much to **Maliha R Pattinson **for her ultra-encouragement. :D


	3. A Journey and a Reminder

**The Road Not Taken  
**Annaleise Marie

**Chapter Three**: A Journey and a Reminder

**AN**: So I'm back. Again, I wasn't going to update again until next Monday, but while I'm on a roll, I figured I should try to make this Monday's update. :3

On a note completely unrelated, as I am typing this, I have no idea what anime I happen to be watching, but there's this chick getting the shit whipped out of her and I'm a little disturbed that it's on basic cable. 0.o

Anyway, let's get this show on the road! I will one day own a husky named Ikemafuna, if I have my way, and I will call him Icky for short. I will not, however, at any point in time, own Twilight. That belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

---

Bella wasn't sure if she slept that night. She may have, at some point, drifted off, but it was hard to tell as, even when she was awake, her mind was filled with fog, her eyes unseeing. She didn't want to move, or think, or feel.

Charlie knocked on her door, a clear, sharp rap before poking his head in when she didn't answer.

"Bells," he said. She turned her head towards him. It felt heavy, like it was filled with led, and no longer truly a part of her body. "I'm leaving for Oregon now. Will you be okay while I'm gone?"

_I will never be okay again_.

"I'll be fine," she forced out, hoping it didn't seem as strained as it felt.

"Maybe you should go stay with your mother while I'm gone," Charlie said. Bella could tell that he was struggling with the parent issue, wondering if what he was doing was okay.

"I'll be fine, Dad," she said. "I can't miss school."

"True," Charlie conceded. "Well, if you need anything, call Billy or Jacob."

"Okay, Dad. Have a good trip."

After he had gone, Bella knew that Alice would be arriving. She would have been watching for him to leave, so that they could set out. She didn't even want to get out of bed, and the promise of a pointless trip wasn't doing anything to motivate her.

She heard the door open and close downstairs, and then the light footsteps ascending the stairs to signal Alice's arrival. She knew that the vampire could move soundlessly, but it somehow comforted her to hear it.

"Bella," the sweet voice sang out and Bella resisted the urge to bury her head in her pillow before the door swung open. "Oh Bella," Alice sighed. "Come on, aren't you up yet? Are you even packed? We have to go. Charlie left later than he was planning to last night, and we're a half hour late already. I'm going to have to break the sound barrier to get us to the airport in time. Bella, are you listening?"

"I'm packed," Bella answered. "The bag's in the closet."

She heard Alice open her closet and retrieve the bag. There was a zipping sound and Alice sighed.

"Bella, this isn't a day trip. Do you know you have no underwear or pajamas in here? Or a toothbrush?" she asked. Bella was actually mildly surprised. Had she really been in that much of a fog that she couldn't remember what she had or hadn't packed. "Bella, get up. I know you're upset but this has to be done. I _know_ it must have something to do with Edward, even if I haven't seen it yet. Why else would the visions have changed right when Edward told you he was leaving?"

"I don't care," Bella grumbled.

"Bella, I _will_ throw you in the car, as is, if you force me to. Or, you can get up, do something about your hair, put on some clothes, and get a jacket because the plane is going to be cold for you. It's all about choices," Alice said in a no-nonsense voice as she pulled the covers off of Bella. "And you're wearing short-shorts. Juicy short-shorts. Do you really want to be wandering through an airport in Juicy shorts? Why do you even _have_ Juicy shorts?"

"Okay, I'm getting up," Bella growled, annoyed as she sat up and got out of bed.

"Good girl," Alice said happily. "I'm going to repack your bag. You get ready to leave." Alice was already pulling clothing items from her closet and dresser. Bella stopped her as she took a pair of jeans off of a hanger and got ready to put them in the bag.

"Not those," she said, taking them from her. "I want those."

"Wear this shirt," Alice answered, holding out a dark blue wide-necked shirt. Bella took it without argument, relieved that the shirt seemed to be as far as Alice was interested in taking Bella-Barbie today.

"Alice, I don't have a passport," Bella said, the fact suddenly occurring to her.

"Of course you do," Alice said dismissively.

"I'm pretty sure I don't."

"Oh really?" Alice asked, producing a navy blue booklet from her purse and holding it out to Bella. She took it and flipped it open, staring at the picture.

"Alice, this is my school picture from last year," she said.

"I know. Now go get ready," Alice said, taking the passport back and returning it to her purse.

Bella made her way to the bathroom, noticing the composite picture frame on the wall. It had all of her school pictures from kindergarten on. The one from her junior year was missing. She wondered vaguely how long Alice had had it, and when she had taken it.

Once in the bathroom, she dressed quickly before running a brush through her hair and securing it with a hairband. It would probably horrify Alice, but she just didn't care to do much else. When she was sure that she would at least pass minimal inspection by the vampire, she returned to her room to see Alice standing by her bed next to a considerably fuller duffel bag.

"Ready?" she asked, picking up the bag, almost half her size, with incredible ease. "Okay, let's go," she continued without waiting for an answer, passing Bella and practically skipping down the stairs.

Alice's yellow sports car was parked in the driveway, the engine still running. She tossed Bella's bag into the trunk and then circled around and was sitting in the driver's seat by the time Bella had managed to open her door.

"Okay, let's get going then," Alice announced, throwing the car into reverse and whipping out of the driveway before speeding off in the direction of the highway.

"You should put your seat belt on," Alice told her and Bella pursed her lips at the bitter wave of emotion that flickered over her.

"I like to live life on the edge, thanks," she grumbled.

"You know, Bella, I know you're upset and you have every right to be, but this bad attitude of yours is going to make this a very long trip," Alice said calmly.

"Why are we even making this trip?" Bella asked with a sigh. "You didn't really give me much information about it last night."

"I didn't really have much information last night," Alice explained. "And really, I don't have much more now. I'm seeing more of Edward, though, when I look for us. Maybe he has something to do with it."

"Then it's pretty inconvenient that he doesn't want to be anywhere near me anymore," Bella bit out, blinking back the few tears in her eyes. She hadn't cried yet. She wondered if it wasn't just building up. It would probably burst forth at the worst possible time, like when she gave her drink order on the plane or something.

"_I'd like a Coke please."_

"_I'm sorry, we're all out." _

And then it would all come out. That would be just her luck.

"Bella, I don't know exactly what's up with him yet, but I wouldn't take what he said at face value," Alice said. They were approaching the Sea-Tac car park now.

Baggage check and security passed in a blur and before Bella knew it she was seated at the gate, waiting for the plane to board.

"Do you want to get something to eat while we wait?" Alice asked her. Bella was about to say no when her stomach growled. She didn't feel hungry, but it probably wouldn't do to faint on the plane, so she followed Alice to the closest airport restaurant, a Starbucks.

"Not the most nutritious of meals, but we don't have a lot of time," Alice said, shrugging.

Bella ordered a muffin and a coffee, and the two returned to the gate. Even knowing that she was physically hungry didn't do much to improve her appetite, and she picked at the muffin as her coffee went cold. In the end, she wound up throwing away most of it before boarding the plane.

"We have a layover in Ohio, then again in New York, and then again in England. You may want to get some sleep while you can," Alice advised as the flight attendant began her safety and emergency instruction. "It's going to be a pretty long trip."

Bella nodded, leaning back the small amount that the airplane seats would allow (which is to say, not much, even in first class) and closing her eyes.

But she felt like she was going onto standby, once more neither awake nor asleep. Unable or perhaps simply unwilling to react to anything around her.

Alice sighed beside her, trying to see more. Between Bella and the uncertain, fuzzy quality of her visions so far, it was indeed going to be a long trip, even for her.

---

Bella was shaken out of her reverie when the plane landed in Ohio, and then again in New York. Both of those layovers were short, and they practically had to run to their next planes. The connecting flight in London, however, was delayed and the layover promised to be at least four hours. Alice made her go with her from gift shop to gift shop, stating that Bella was too "out of it" to be left alone in an airport, of all places. Bella suspected, though, that Alice really only wanted someone to rant to about the tacky souvenir shirts and other merchandise in the shops.

They were in one such shop, where Alice was debating whether or not Jasper would know to be amused if she brought him back a tacky souvenir shirt, or if he'd actually wear it. After a moment of searching, she re-shelved it, proclaiming that he would most definitely wear it.

There was a woman with a child in front of them in line at the register. He was a boy, about five years old, with dark hair and eyes. He was swinging on his mother's hand, begging for a bag of gummies, and she was telling him that he wasn't going to get a ton of sugar before they got on the plane.

"Please, Mommy?" he begged.

"I already told you no. We have snacks for the plane, you don't need all of that sugar. Now hush, Finn," the woman answered as the boy pouted.

Bella felt her heart skip a beat and her stomach twist. She felt like she had met these people before, but she knew that was ridiculous. Still, it was hard to push away the uneasy feeling in her gut.

"Come on, Bella," Alice said cheerfully and Bella realized with a start that not only had the woman and her son moved on, but Alice had also payed for her magazine and was ready to leave the shop.

---

By the time last plane touched down in Italy, it was late in the evening. They took a cab to the hotel that Alice had booked. The ride was silent; Bella didn't feel like talking, and Alice was trying to search for what they were supposed to do now that they were there.

"I really think we're supposed to find Edward," Alice said timidly once they were in the hotel room. Bella shook her head.

"He doesn't want to see me, Alice. Apparently he couldn't even stand to be on the same continent with me," Bella said.

"I'm telling you Bella, I really don't think you should believe exactly what he said," Alice sighed, closing her eyes.

"Why do you think we need to find him, anyway?" Bella prompted.

"He keeps appearing more and more, but the further I look, the harder he is to find. It's like at some point he just disappears," Alice said, furrowing her brow in concentration. "And then, I saw myself talking to Jasper, saying that I hoped you would go back to find him... But I don't know what that means. Based on everything else, though, I would guess that we're supposed to find him."

"Fine," Bella said, too exhausted to argue. "I don't know how I'm supposed to find him, if he doesn't want to be found, though."

"We'll just have to try," Alice said softly. "We'll set out in the morning, and start looking in Volterra."

"Why Volterra?"

"Chances are, if a vampire goes to Italy, they'll end up in Volterra. It's kind of like our capital... Our kingdom, if you will," Alice explained.

"Will... Will I be safe there?" Bella asked, her heart skipping a beat. She had always had Edward to protect her in vampire encounters up until then.

"You're safer in Volterra than just about anywhere else, honestly," Alice said. "It's Edward and me that are in real danger there."

"Why?"

"I'll explain everything on the way there tomorrow. It's a very long story, and you'll need to be rested. Goodnight Bella," Alice said before exiting the suite's bedroom and shutting the door behind her.

---

**AN**: It was my understanding, when reading the books, that Alice's visions depend largely on her proximity to the person in question, and to how far in the future the event is. That, coupled with the fact that Bella's meeting with Alice in the future _technically_ hasn't actually happened, I figured her visions would be pretty fuzzy. Correct me if I'm wrong on any of this.

Also, there is a banner made for this story. The link to it is available on my profile. GAZE AT IT IN WONDER! XD

As always, feedback is very much appreciated. Every review makes my day! Also, to show my appreciation, anyone who reviews will get a preview of the next chapter! Ten reviews gets you the chapter early. Hey, I'm above begging for reviews, I'm not above bribing. /wink

Thank you all for reading!.


	4. An Explanation and a Plan

**The Road Not Taken  
**Annaleise Marie

**Chapter Four**: An Explanation and a Plan

**AN**: Okay, so I didn't get ten reviews, being that it's only been like fourteen hours BUT Maliha has once more been stroking my ego and so here it is! XD

So I was reading through the last chapter and it hit me as kind of dry. Necessary, but dry. So, I tried to make this one more interesting. I also realized that even though I'm telling this story in third person, it's focused on Bella, and isn't omniscient. So in this chapter I'm going to focus on Alice a bit more. Because let's face it. At this point in time Bella is pretty much useless as far as processing emotion and that's boring for both me, and you.

Anyway, on with the show. I own the new Kingdom Hearts game (358/2 Days) and a shiny silver Nintendo DS to play it on, but I don't own Twilight. That belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

---

Bella didn't sleep that night. Alice could hear her heart and her breathing, both too fast to belong to a sleeping person, as she lounged on the couch in the suite's main room. She guessed that Bella hadn't slept at all since Edward left, and truly wondered how the girl was still going, even if she was acting like a zombie.

Her visions confused her. They were flighty, blurred. There seemed to be too many factors between now and whenever what was to happen was going to happen, too many choices to be made between now and then. If she had been human, she was sure she would have developed a headache by this point, but as it was, she was simply frustrated.

The visions that were hardest to decipher were the ones of her and Jasper. Sometimes they were simply talking, at other times they were traveling, searching the world for something. She wasn't sure what they were looking for, but she could tell that it was very important. She couldn't find Edward _or_ Bella at these times, and she wondered what that meant.

It worried her that she couldn't find Edward anywhere in the near future, or the distant future. It was a puzzle that she seemed to be missing a few pieces to, and she kept trying to find them until the first rays of light came through the hotel windows.

She sighed and stood, smoothing her dress and heading towards the bedroom to knock lightly on the door. "Bella, it's time to get up." There was no answer. Alice tried the door, to find it locked. "Come on Bella, we're not playing this game, we have to go," Alice said, trying to keep her voice even, despite the fact that her temper was flaring. As far as she could tell, she was doing all of this to help Bella. The least the girl could do was cooperate.

"Bella, come on, open the door." Still no answer, but Alice could still hear her heart and breathing, so she was definitely inside. "You know, I really try not to leave a wave of destruction behind me; I'm not an animal. But I _will_ rip this door off of its hinges, if you want to do it that way."

Finally, she heard the soft footsteps signaling that Bella was coming to the door. The lock clicked, and then the door swung open to reveal Bella, glaring at her.

"Morning, Sunshine," Alice said, smiling back at her. "You should get dress. You don't want to be wandering around Volterra looking like this."

Bella sighed and turned to walk back into the room, unzipping her duffel bag and pulling out a pair of jeans and a light green tee shirt before disappearing into the bathroom. Alice returned to the sitting room and took out her cell phone, dialing Jasper's number quickly.

"Hey darlin'," he answered on the first ring. "How's the trip going."

"Not so good. I can't see much about what we're supposed to do, and Bella's... well, honestly, Bella's grating on my nerves," Alice said in a low voice.

"Sorry to hear that," Jasper said. "What's wrong with her?"

"I think Edward leaving screwed her up pretty badly. I'm pretty sure we have to find him, but I can't see it. I think it's because Bella's resisting me. If she would just make up her mind to do it, I'd be able to see easier." Alice leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes. "I don't know what to do, Jazz. I don't know how to change people's moods like you, and Bella seems pretty stuck in this mopey state."

"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Jasper said. "Or I could come over there. Bella might not take kindly to me messing with her mood though, now of all times."

"Why now, especially?"

"Sometimes people just want to be miserable for awhile. It's part of the healing process," Jasper explained.

"I know, but it's really inconvenient. Aren't they supposed to go through denial or something first?"

"Usually. They don't have to, though."

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Jazz."

"You'll figure something out, darlin'. But do it quickly." Alice could hear the smile in his voice. "I want you back here with me as soon as possible."

"I miss you too," Alice answered quietly as she heard the bathroom door open and close, and Bella's footsteps coming towards the door. "We're going to Volterra today, but I can't see what will happen there, for Bella, anyway."

"Just keep her away from Aro. And you try to avoid him, too," Jasper warned, concern tainting his voice.

"I will," Alice promised. Bella was now out of the bedroom, her jacket and shoes on, her hands shoved in her pockets and her eyes trained on the floor. "We'd better be going. I love you, I'll call you later."

"Love you, too, darlin'."

Alice ended the call and walked to the door, listening to Bella's footsteps to make sure she was following her. They made their way down to the first floor and waited while the valet brought the rental car, a jet-black Lamborghini, around to the front drive.

"So tell me about Volterra," Bella said quietly once they were in the car.

"Volterra is ruled by the Volturi. They're kind of like our government, the rulers of all vampires. They enforce our rules," Alice started.

"Vampires have rules?" Bella asked, sounding surprised. Alice smiled slightly.

"Every civilization has rules. If it weren't for the Volturi, the world would probably be in chaos. A lot of vampires aren't like us. They lack control and pose a very real danger to mankind. Some of them never adjust, and can't control themselves at all. There have been huge massacres, entire cities wiped out by these vampires. That's when the Volturi step in and... take care of the situation.

"But the main concern of the Volturi is to keep it from the humans that we exist..." Alice trailed of there, unsure of how to phrase the next part. "It is very... important... that we keep it from the Volturi that you know what we are."

"I thought I was supposed to be safe in Volterra?" Bella asked quietly.

"As a human, you are very safe in Volterra. The Volturi keep a very tight rein on the city, and protect it. As long as they think you are just a human, you will be fine. It's only if they realize that you know what we are that you'll be in danger," Alice explained. "We'll have to be very careful to make sure they don't realize that you know."

"You said that I was in less danger than you," Bella reminded her.

"Yes."

"Why's that? If you're one of them..."

"The leader, Aro, is something of a collector. He likes to have powerful people in his ranks. People with unique gifts, like myself, and Edward," Alice answered grimly.

"And Jasper?"

"No, he doesn't seem to want Jasper," Alice said, her relief at this fact evident in her voice.

"Why not?"

"I suppose Jasper's gift isn't of use to him. It's kind of... understated, don't you think?"

"But powerful," Bella added.

"In a sense. But Aro has others that can achieve the same ends as Jasper, and far more effectively towards his ends. The members of the Volturi that can do it each only possess a certain aspect of it, so other people's emotions aren't as overwhelming for them, like they are for Jasper," Alice explained.

"So he only wants you and Edward."

"He wants me more than Edward. Not that he'd mind having us as a set."

"Why doesn't he want Edward? It seems like it would be helpful to know what people are thinking," Bella asked.

"Well, Aro can already do that himself. He has to touch the person, but he still has that skill. He doesn't have a seer, though. You see?" Alice asked. Bella nodded. "Anyway, Aro is the one we really have to worry about. Some of the other Volturi are more dangerous, in a way, but Aro commands them."

As they entered Volterra, Alice was struck, as she often was, at how much living for nearly a century could jade a person. She could remember the first time she saw Volterra, how the bustling streets and beautiful buildings had stunned and overwhelmed her. Now nothing jumped out at her. She looked over at Bella, expecting to see a hint of the wonder that she had experienced such a long time ago, but the girl's eyes were once more blank, now that the conversation had ended. She seemed to have once more returned to her zombie-like state.

Alice returned her attention to trying to see Edward as she wound through the streets, to no avail. She couldn't understand it. She hadn't seen anything helpful about him since he decided to go to Italy. It was like he wasn't making any decisions, doing whatever he was doing at random, completely on whims.

Where were they supposed to start without even a hint as to where he was?

Alice parked the car, mulling over the options. It would take forever to search the entire city with Bella in tow. She simply couldn't move fast enough with her and still keep it from the Volturi that Bella knew what she was. But every one of the visions that she could make sense of pointed towards Bella coming along on this trip. She had to think of a strategy.

What if Edward was with the Volturi? Would he have gone there? If he had, why hadn't she seen that? You couldn't just wander in. That was something you definitely decided on.

Still, what if he was? She couldn't take Bella with her to check. But she couldn't just leave her alone in the city, could she?

She had to think of something. She wished Jasper was there. He was a brilliant strategist. What would he do in this situation? She had no way of knowing. It was one thing to provoke a vision about whether or not he would actually wear a shirt if she brought it back; it was another to see something with so many factors.

Maybe she should call him...

"Bella, I'm going to go make a call and check out the city. We haven't done anything to arouse the Volturi's suspicions, but it can't hurt to keep an eye on the guard. They'll definitely be watching me once they realize I'm here." She looked around and spotted a cafe at the end of the block. "Why don't you go get something to eat, and I'll join you when I'm done, okay?"

Bella nodded and they both got out of the car. Alice watched her until she disappeared into the cafe and then focused on her surroundings, trying so either catch sight of or hear the Volturi. It surprised her to realize that, for the moment at least, they didn't seem to be around. It had been awhile since she had been around any of them, so she might not have recognized their individual scents, but nothing even smelled like vampire. It was almost unnerving.

She took out her phone and dialed Jasper's number again, listening to it ring for less than a second before it connected.

"Checking in again already, darlin'?" he asked in his smooth Southern twang. How he had managed to go all of these years without losing it, she would never know.

"I'm in Volterra, and I'm stuck. I have no idea where to start looking for Edward. And if I have to just start searching the whole city blindly, with Bella in tow, we'll be here for years. Unless I want to attract the Volturi's suspicions, which will put both of us in danger. I don't know what to do," Alice explained.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jasper said.

"I was wondering if you had any ideas," Alice prompted, rolling her eyes.

"Well, you could split up. That way you could do what you want to find him, and Bella won't be caught with you," Jasper suggested.

"I can't just leave her alone here," Alice said. "If the Volturi _do_ find out about her connection with us, I can't leave her defenseless." Jasper was quiet for a minute, and if it weren't for the faint buzzing of the connection, Alice would have thought the call had ended. "Jazz?"

"I hate to suggest it, darlin', because you know I don't want to put Bella in danger, but maybe you should let them catch her," he said hesitantly.

"What? Why?"

"You could bait the Volturi in order to bait Edward." Alice was quiet, hoping for more explanation. "Listen, I know Edward went on this whole 'I don't want you anymore' rant with Bella, but you and I both know that's not true. And if Edward _is_ in Volterra, then I guarantee he knows that you and Bella are there to find him. He's not going to make it easy on you to find him if that's not what he wants. He knows how to cheat your visions, after all. But he _will_ be keeping an eye on you. And he won't let anything happen to Bella. So if you get the Volturi to bring you in, especially for revealing yourself to a human, Edward will come to you."

Alice turned the idea over in her head. It made sense, but she still wasn't sure.

"And if he doesn't show up?" she asked. It was something she had to consider.

"You can get out of that situation. With Bella. I know you can. Especially because Aro wants you to join the guard. Plus, I'm leaving to join you now. I should be there by the afternoon," he answered, and she could hear air whipping around the phone.

"You're going to run all the way here?" she asked. It wouldn't phase him, but she knew it wasn't exactly convenient.

"Well, no. I'm going to run about half of the way, and then I'm going to swim," he chuckled. She smiled.

"Okay," Alice said, smiling. "I'll see you soon. In the meantime, I'll explain everything to Bella."

"Okay darlin'. I love you."

"Love you, too."

She ended the call and made her way back to the cafe. Bella was inside, once more picking at a muffin. She sat down across from her, waving the waiter away when he approached to take her order. Given the circumstances, she didn't need to spend her evening purging the human food from her system just for the sake of appearances.

---

In the bell tower of a nearby church, Edward looked down on the spot where Alice had been talking to Jasper.

So they were going to set a trap for him? Try to lure him out instead of looking for him? Clever. Of course there was no way that he would let Bella die. Not when he had left to protect her. He felt a flare of anger. How dare Alice undo all of that by bringing her here. And what could her motive have been? Last he had heard, she wasn't planning on returning to Forks.

He had come to Volterra, planning to allow Aro to "collect" him. If he joined the guard, he wouldn't be allowed to see Bella. For that matter, Aro would probably have Chelsea undo all of his emotional ties, not just with Bella, but also his ties to his family. He would have no reason to return. Bella would be safe.

But now that was all different, wasn't it? Alice had undone that entire plan, and now he had no idea what to do.

What made it worse was that he couldn't decide what to do for sure, or it wouldn't even matter. Alice would know where he was, and where he was going. It would come down to the exact moment.

---

Jasper sped through the woods at a pace fast enough that the trees were beginning to blur even for him. He had figured, when Alice had told him that she was leaving and the little bit of information that she had gathered, that he might need to go to Italy, but he hadn't thought that the stakes would be so high.

What if they were wrong, and Edward wasn't even _in _Volterra? That would be an entirely different situation. He had faith that Alice could get away from the Volturi, most likely even with Bella, but at what cost? Aro wouldn't pose a huge threat against her, but what if the rest of the guard got involved? Jane or Alec especially. They would keep Alice alive, because Aro wanted her as part of the guard, but what about Bella? She wouldn't stand a chance.

He had tried to sound calm and sure on the phone, but as he thought about it, he became filled with anxiety. Bella was practically part of the family, and he didn't want her to get hurt any more than he would want any other member of the family in danger. He felt bad enough when he thought of what he had almost done on her birthday; he didn't want to imagine her in further danger.

He reached the shore of the Atlantic and without a thought dove in, propelling himself through the current powerfully.

---

**AN**: I tried to be as accurate as possible with the info about the Volturi, Volterra, etc., but after moving, I'm having trouble locating my copy of New Moon, which I recall as having the most miscellaneous information about it. So, if I have anything wrong, please don't hesitate to tell me. Being a self-proclaimed canon nazi, I won't be offended. I really want to get it right. :D

I also tried to use the Twilight Lexicon to find this information, and I have to say, compared to the Harry Potter Lexicon, it is very hard to find anything, and it's missing a _lot_ of stuff that one would hope to find on a lexicon. I'm generally very frustrated by it.

In a note unrelated to the story, but related to frustration, I hate Larxene in Organization XIII. Even Zexion was nicer...

Anyway, as always, feedback is greatly appreciated, and thank you for reading. :3 Also, once again, I will send a preview to all reviewers, and ten reviews will get the chapter posted earlier. I'm hoping to stick to that this time. D:


	5. A Decision and an Execution

**The Road Not Taken  
**Annaleise Marie

**Chapter Five**: A Decision and an Execution

**AN**: So I was going to update early, since, even though I only hit eight reviews since the last update, but I got to work on Thursday and they were all, "Oh, yeah, by the way, your client has H1N1. We didn't bother to call and tell you, here, have a mask."

So, needless to say, the weekend's been a bit hectic. But I still got the chapter out two days early. Good, yes?

Anyway. I own full kandi sleeves for raving, but I don't own Twilight. That belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

---

Bella stared blankly at Alice when the vampire was done explaining her plan.

"Bella?" Alice prompted after a few minutes.

"What makes you so sure he's going to show up? It would probably be a relief to him if I were gone," she said, staring back down at her muffin.

"The only way he won't show up is if he's not here at all," Alice rebutted. She sounded absolutely sure of herself, but Bella wondered if something hadn't gotten lost in translation between what had happened and what Alice had seen. Clearly something had been different if she thought that at all.

"What do you see with this plan?" Bella asked. "If we go through with it, what do you see happening?"

Alice slammed her hand down on the table, and even though Bella knew that it was only a small fraction of the force she could exert if she chose to, the sharp thud still made her flinch.

"I can't see anything because you won't make up your mind to do it!" Alice hissed. "All I can see is what will happen if Jasper and I go! And Edward won't show up for Jasper and me because we won't be in danger if it's only us, and even if we were, we could get out of it!"

There was silence as Alice leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes, a habit formed from years of pretending to be human.

"When we started this, I asked you to trust me, and know that I won't let anything happen to you, no matter what has to be done. You may not have answered me, but when you agreed to come along, I thought that meant that you understood how important that was," Alice said. "You don't have to do it, but I would never ask you to do something that would hurt you, and I wish you would trust me."

She scooted her chair back and stood up, walking briskly towards the door. Bella jumped up to hurry after her, but her foot caught on the leg of her chair and she tumbled to the floor. She was generally unharmed, but embarrassed as she scrambled back to her feet and rushed to the door. Alice hadn't stopped walking and was already halfway back to the car.

"Alice! Wait! Where are you going?" she called, hurrying after her. She caught up to her at the car. It beeped to signal that Alice had unlocked it and then she finally turned back to Bella.

"I'm taking you back to the hotel. I'll arrange for plane tickets and a driver to take you to the airport, and then to pick you up from Sea-Tac. I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to, but you're a hindrance here if you're not going to help. Jasper and I can search Volterra quickly if we don't have to hide ourselves. You can go home," Alice stated calmly, opening her door and signaling for Bella to get in on the passenger's side.

"Alice..." Bella started, feeling a lump rising in her throat. The vampire's amber eyes swung to hers, cold and hard. Bella swallowed, trying to form words, any words that would make this stop.

"I don't want to see eyes like that!" she burst out. She was slightly confused by her own words, and by the look on Alice's face, so was she. Then it clicked. Those cold ocher eyes staring at her without feeling... they were like Edward's eyes, the last time she had seen him. Right before he had left her. As she realized this, she saw comprehension dawning on Alice's face.

And that was it. The dam had broken and every emotion she had been holding in for the last few days rushed forward in one big wave. Her eyes welled up and then spilled over and she no longer had any strength. She felt herself falling to the ground, and then she made contact with something solid, but soft. She opened her eyes and saw the blurry fabric of Alice's suede jacket. Alice had caught her.

It was embarrassing, breaking down in the streets like this, and she wanted to stop, before anyone noticed, if they hadn't already, but she couldn't. Now that the floodgates were open, the tears wouldn't stop falling. She was falling, she couldn't stand anymore. She felt Alice sink to the ground with her, holding her and enveloping her in soft suede. It felt like a cocoon, a barrier from the outside world, and Bella allowed herself to break down.

---

Edward watched from his place in the bell tower as the scene unfolded behind him. He heard the words and saw Alice run around the car to catch Bella, and he had to stop himself from going down there to catch her himself.

He knew he had done what was best for her when he left. He just wished she had realized it. This proximity to her was jeopardizing his entire decision, and he wasn't sure how long he would be able to stay away from her if this continued.

Hopefully Alice would send her home. She needed to go. She didn't need to be a part of this world. And he cared to much for her to allow her to be.

He turned his back on the scene and leaped from the other side of the tower, landing on a neighbouring roof. He continued on in this way, keeping his movements random until he landed on a street, any street, and walked quickly away from the site.

---

Jasper emerged from the water and hit the shore running, zipping up the shoreline and then through the thick forest, traveling as the crow flies straight towards Volterra.

It wasn't long before he spotted the city over the horizon, and within half an hour he was there. He slowed his pace, careful not to arouse suspicion. If there ever was a place to keep his true nature a secret, Volterra was it. At least, not until he found Alice and Bella.

He pulled his phone out of the waterproof bag that he had sealed it in for the journey and dialed Alice's number. He could have tracked her, but it would have taken more time.

"Jasper?" her voice answered almost immediately.

"I'm in Volterra. Where are you and Bella?" he asked, casting his eyes around, searching for any sign of Edward, Alice, Bella, or the Volturi. He had never seen the guard on the city so low. It was unnerving, to say the least.

"We're outside of Cafe DeLaRosa," Alice replied, her voice tight.

"Is everything okay?" Jasper asked, quickening his pace slightly.

"Yes, just hurry," she said in that same tight voice.

The connection ended and Jasper hurried through the winding streets to Cafe DeLaRosa, which he thankfully remembered from a previous trip to the area. Still, no matter how well he remembered the area, after running for so long, he felt like he was making no progress at this pace. He turned into an alley and, after making sure that it really was as empty as it looked, scaled the wall to the roof of the buildings.

Finally, away from the sight of the humans on the streets below, he leaped from one rooftop to the next, skipping block by block in moments rather than minutes. He touched down on the roof of Cafe DeLaRosa, peering over the edge of the building into the alley below to make sure no one was there before dropping down to the ground. He hurried out of the alley and swept the street with his eyes, spotting Alice and Bella crouched on the sidewalk. He hurried over and crouched down with them, trying to discern from Alice's face what had happened.

"She just kind of broke down," Alice said quietly. "I told her that if she didn't want to do this, she could go home, and she just kind of... fell apart."

Jasper nodded, concentrating on calming Bella down. He had never fully understood how his gift worked, but it had never failed, and now was no exception. He could feel her start to calm, and her sobs quietened. After a few moments, she pulled herself away from Alice, wiping her tear-stained face with shaky hands.

"I'm sorry," she muttered.

"It's okay," Alice said. "I'm kind of relieved that you let it out. Snarky-Zombie-Bella wasn't really in my tastes."

"We'd better get off of the sidewalk," Jasper advised, standing back up and helping Bella to her feet as Alice rose up gracefully. Alice looked around quickly.

"There's really nowhere here to talk. It was fine when I was just explaining the plan to Bella, I didn't have to reveal that she knew anything, but there's more to discuss now, the finer points, and if she's even going to stay here or not," she said.

"I want to stay," Bella said, her voice wavering. "Don't send me back, Alice, please."

"Bella," Alice sighed.

"No!" Bella interrupted her desperately. "I'll trust you, I promise! I... I just want to see him again. And if he doesn't show, I don't care then. I don't care what happens if I don't have him!"

Jasper was rolling out enough calming waves to soothe a rampaging elephant, but Bella wasn't having that. While she quietened and didn't sound as desperate, she continued on, begging Alice to allow her to stay in Volterra.

Alice looked at Jasper, silently asking him what she should do. He shrugged. He was there to help, and to help develop a strategy. He could work with either option.

Alice's brow furrowed as she thought about it and then nodded. It seemed to Jasper that, for the moment at least, Bella's decision was pretty solid.

But now that the situation was at least somewhat under control, and he was less focused on what was happening, the smell of Bella and the other humans milling around the area was starting to get to him. The scent was gathering in a cloud so thick that he could almost see it.

"Alice," he muttered. She turned to him, her eyes wide.

"Right," she said, throwing Jasper the car keys. "You drive."

"Are we going back to the hotel?" Bella asked from the backseat when they were all in the car.

"The hotel is two hours away, if we don't want to attract the Volturi's attention before we're ready," Jasper said, holding his breath in the enclosed space. The smell wasn't as strong there as it had been on the street, but Bella was still too close, and too _human_, for comfort. He had already lost his control that month, he didn't need to slip again.

"So where are we going?" she prompted when he didn't offer any more answers.

"Lajatico," Jasper answered. "It's a small town, not far from here. The Volturi don't usually keep an eye on it, because it's such an insignificant little place. So we'll know if they're watching us. It would have to be a pretty big coincidence for them to be there."

"And if they are?"

"They're not," Alice said assuredly. "Or at least, at the moment. And unless something changes, they won't be there in the near future. We should be safe."

"What's it matter if we're safe, if we're trying to put ourselves in danger?"

"You never want to run into a battle without a plan," Jasper said. "It's the surest way to lose. And this is one that we can't afford to lose. If you're going to be in danger, you definitely want it to be on your terms."

---

Edward raced through the trees alongside the road, trying to keep his thoughts as random as possible while still following the black Lamborghini. It was a perk that a vampire's mind was capable of compartmentalizing in such a way, because if Alice saw that he was following, she would only have to look to her right to spot him. The trees weren't as thick here as they were in Washington, and while human eyes wouldn't be able to easily spot him, his family would have no such problem.

The Lajatico landscape came into view quite awhile before they actually reached the town. Lajatico was built into the side of a mountain, it's winding roads and ancient buildings standing out in stark contrast to the surrounding farmland.

Why couldn't they just leave well enough alone? If Alice hadn't dragged Bella into this, convinced her to come looking for him, he knew she never would have. She would have been safe, and eventually she would have moved on and settled down with someone who was better for her; someone who wasn't constantly putting her in danger.

He only hoped that something would happen to end this, before either he or the Volturi had to step in.

---

Jasper slowed the car to a stop in front of a small terracotta building. It wasn't much larger than a house, and was charming in its own way, despite the way the whitewash on the doors and window facings was peeling.

"What's this?" Bella asked as Jasper and Alice got out of the car. She followed them quickly, climbing out as gracefully as she could, which was to say, not very.

"A local inn," Alice answered. "They have a vacancy, and it should be more private than anywhere else."

They went inside, Alice and Jasper with their usual air of confidence, Bella shuffling after them, her eyes casting fervent glances around the main room as Alice conversed with the innkeeper in quick, fluid Italian. The place was humble, sparsely decorated, but clean. A narrow staircase to the right led to the upper levels, where Alice was now leading them. She opened a door to the right with a brass number three affixed to it.

"Okay," Alice started once they were inside and the door was closed behind them. Jasper leaned casually against it, blocking it more effectively than any man-made barricade in the history of the world. "First, how are we going to show the Volturi that Bella knows about us without making a scene? They'd probably kill us on the streets if we exposed ourselves to all of Volterra."

"Can't we just go to them?" Bella asked. Alice and Jasper both turned to look at her like she was out of her mind. "What?"

"Bella, you don't just turn yourself in to the Volturi. We want them to know as little as possible about what we're doing. We also need to make sure they don't know we're looking for Edward. If they know he's in Italy before he shows up, he'll be in more danger," Alice explained. "On that note, it would probably be best if you did everything you could to avoid letting Aro touch you."

"What? Why?" Bella asked, confused by these directions. She didn't really want the leader of the ominous Volturi touching her, but she didn't understand why it would be such a horrible thing.

"He reads people's minds that way. It's okay for Jasper and I; we're better at controlling our thoughts, handling one thing while thinking of something else. But Aro can't know that you know as much as you do about our world. He needs to think that you only know what we are."

"But Edward can't read my mind," Bella pointed out.

"Yeah, and we're not sure why," Jasper countered. "We don't know if it's just him, or some fluke, or anything."

"Best to be safe," Alice agreed. Bella nodded.

"It's probably best to do something subtle. Something that will clearly be inhuman, but that won't surprise Bella. Then they can draw their own conclusions," Jasper continued. "We ourselves need to give away as little information as possible. It's also probably best to do it at night. Less witnesses, so less casualties to innocent bystanders."

"Casualties?" Bella choked out.

"Since you're with us, we'll probably be granted an audience and given a chance to explain. But anyone who just happens to see us and realize what we are will probably be killed without a thought," Alice said.

"The Volturi are pretty evil, aren't they?" Bella asked.

"The Volturi do what's necessary to protect us, as well as mankind. For that, sometimes death is necessary. For both sides. Humans aren't the only one who die by their hands," Jasper said with a shrug.

"So what are we going to do?" Alice prompted.

"We're going to put Bella in danger. And then we're going to rescue her."

---

Alice paced around the room as Bella watched, sometimes staring into space and sometimes flitting her eyes quickly to the window to track the progress of the setting sun. Jasper had left about an hour before, stating that he needed to hunt before Bella's adrenaline started going, her heart pumping faster, as it was sure to do if their plan succeeded.

"Stop changing your mind!" Alice suddenly burst out. Bella jumped.

"W-What?" she asked, surprised by the sudden ourburst.

"You keep changing my visions," Alice sighed. "You need to make up your mind."

Bella blinked at her, confused. "I haven't changed my mind," she said. Alice stopped her pacing and turned her golden eyes – now really closer to a muddy brass than they had been at the start of the trip – to focus on Bella, who noticed the colour of her eyes and wondered if she didn't need to hunt, too.

"But you keep disappearing. At different parts, after we get taken in, you disappear."

"What do you mean, I disappear?" Bella demanded. Alice didn't answer, her eyes still wide. "Alice... am I going to die?"

---

Edward was once more perched in the bell tower, staring down at the street below. To his right, he knew, there was a hooded figure, witnessing the same thing he was. He watched as Bella hurried to the street corner, looking quickly in both directions before stepping off of the curb. He watched as her ankle turned out, her hands flying out in front of her. He heard as her body made solid contact with the ground.

It was all he could do to remind himself that Alice and Jasper were there, that this was part of the plan, to stop himself from going down there himself as he saw the approaching car, going to fast, flying through the intersection, drawing closer. Edward gritted his teeth as Alice's rental car bore down on Bella, who appeared to be struggling to stand up and get out of the way.

And then there was Jasper, darting quickly, almost too quickly to be seen even by Edward, towards Bella. He grabbed her and kept going, just in time. Edward was surprised that Alice hadn't clipped his heel with the front bumper of the car.

And then the hooded figure was gone. Edward heard Alice stop the car at the next block and take off running to where she knew Jasper and Bella would be. She arrived a mere fraction of a second before the hooded member of the guard.

Their plan had been executed, and now he knew he had to make a decision.

---

**AN**: I went with canon on Jasper's gift, in that it can affect Bella. To be honest, though, I never understood that. Supposedly, only the gifts that _physically _affect people work on Bella, because she's a shield or whatever. So I always thought that Jasper's shouldn't work on her. Just, you know, putting that out there.

Also, Lajatico – It's a real place, not far from Volterra, and I described it the best I could, considering the whole site is in Italian. Scarily enough, though, in pictures it looks a lot like some of the places near where I live, but with prettier buildings. 0.o

Anyway, something that fascinates me: They now make a Snuggie in zebra print. It is so tacky that it's amazing and I've never wanted a backwards bathrobe so badly.

As always, I appreciate feedback, and I will send all reviewers a preview of the next chapter. Of course, ten will get the chapter posted earlier. If you leave an anonymous review (and I do accept them) please leave an email address for me to send the preview to. Thank you for reading!


	6. A Reunion and a Verdict

**The Road Not Taken  
**Annaleise Marie

**Chapter Six**: A Reunion and a Verdict

**AN**: I torrented the New Moon soundtrack today. I'm not sure how I feel about it. A few of my favourite bands are on there (Death Cab for Cutie, for example), but I'm not sure how I feel about such awesome bands being raped for a Twilight soundtrack. My opinions on the Twilight Saga are complicated. Just roll with it.

I own a copy of "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell", although I can't remember which friend borrowed it and never returned it. I do not, however, own Twilight. That would be Stephenie Meyer.

---

Bella's heart was beating wildly, and Jasper stopped breathing. It helped to slightly ease the sting in the back of his throat, but he could still hear the rapid thud of her heart, the blood rushing through her veins, and her uneven, shaky breaths. He clenched his fists at his side. This was going to be a very long trip.

Suddenly, Alice was there, gasping, "They're coming," too quickly for Bella to catch, before suddenly they were surrounded. Bella gave a small whimper.

"Oh, it is a Cullen," a soft male voice spoke. "Alice Cullen, in fact."

"Now, Demetri, be nice. Jasper's here too," Alice answered pleasantly.

"Yes, how very rude of me," the hooded figure spoke again. "Good to see you, Jasper." Jasper lifted his chin slightly in acknowledgment.

"Quite a spill you took back there, Miss..." Demetri continued, his attention focused on Bella now. She opened her mouth, forcing her throat to unstick and her tongue to cooperate long enough to croak out, "Bella Swan."

"Miss Swan... it was a very close call," Demetri commented conversationally. Bella nodded. "And yet you seem shaken, but not surprised to find yourself alive. Why is that?" It was a trap of a question, one that Alice had anticipated, and Bella had just opened her mouth to deliver the line when she was interrupted by the figure to Demetri's right.

"Enough." This voice was harsher, like the cracking of a whip. "Stop playing with them. We have our orders."

"And what would those be, gentlemen?" Alice asked with feigned interest.

"Well, you know that Aro's always been very interested in you," Felix said. "And now with _this_, of course we have to bring in anyone involved in _this_."

"Are there others?" one of the other members of the guard, this one female, asked. "The other Cullens?"

"How nice to see you again, Jane," Alice said cordially. "And no, I assure you the others are not involved. We weren't even aware we were involved until she fell. Up until then it had been very easy to hide our... nature from her. She is only human, after all."

"Yes..." Felix said slowly. "Save further explanation for Aro. Let's go."

"Okay," Alice agreed easily. "Bella, you go back to the hotel. Jasper and I will meet you there later."

"Oh no," Jane said. Alice could almost hear the smug smile in her voice, and she had to fight back one of her own. She just _knew _that Jane would love to bring in someone _claimed by law_. She was a sadistic little thing. "No, I think she should come along too. You know the rules, Alice."

"Of course. Although I promise you that she doesn't know _nearly _as much as you would think she does," Alice said smoothly.

"I think that will be for Aro to decide. Let's go."

---

Edward watched from the bell tower as the guard, followed by Alice, Jasper, and Bella, made their way towards the alley that he knew to hold the entrance to the sewers that served as a passage to the Volturi's subterranean quarters.

It was now or never; he had to make a decision.

---

Bella blinked in the bright light of the hallway, startling to her eyes after the dim light of the tunnel-like passageway that led to it. The guard had let down their hoods now that they were no longer on the streets of Volterra, and Bella was mildly surprised. She had expected them to look, as most of the vampires so far had, like they could be related to the Cullens, but there was something that she couldn't quite place her finger on that made them shockingly different, and truly scared her.

Jane had short, light brown hair and the figure of a small boy, but a face that was astounding in its beauty. Demetri and Felix both had black hair, Demetri's falling in waves to his shoulders and Felix's cut short. All three were incredibly gorgeous, to Bella's eyes, but then, that was nothing new in this world.

No, what made them different, she realized, and so frightening, was their eyes. They were dark crimson, sitting ghoulishly in their sockets, set in sharp contrast to their chalky skin.

These were not what Bella considered to be the "good" vampires.

Her surroundings surprised her as much as the guard themselves. She had expected stone and gargoyles, flying buttresses and bolted ceilings. What she saw looked like your everyday place of business.

It seemed like they walked through that hall, and the adjoining halls for hours before they finally reached a large, round room. It was sparsely decorated and had a drain in the middle of the room, much like the one they had to go down to get here.

The man who was in the room was _very_ different from the Cullens, and even the guard, Bella realized. While he had that same ethereal look about him, he didn't look sturdy, or especially beautiful like the others. In fact, he looked fragile, frail, as though he had become a vampire when he was in his seventies instead of his twenties. His eyes looked as though they were cataract, turning the red irises milky.

"Jane!" he greeted the girl happily, moving towards her. For all of his appearances, he moved with grace to rival Alice's. His voice was soft, as if it tired him to exert even the energy required to talk, and yet he did not appear tired. In fact, Bella knew, he _couldn't_ betired.

"Hello, Master," Jane replied, allowing him to grasp her hands as she leaned in to kiss both of his cheeks. This, then, Bella decided, must be Aro. She was a little let down. This vampire, who seemed so frail and weak, was the leader of the almighty Volturi?

"I see you have brought some visitors," Aro said, his eyes sweeping over Alice and Jasper and momentarily resting on Bella before flitting back to Alice. "Mrs. Cullen, it's so nice to see you again," he said, sounding genuinely pleased. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I assure you, Aro, that we are not here for leisure. Not this time, anyway," Alice said with a smile. "We were brought in."

"Oh you were?" Aro asked, raising his eyebrows as he looked from Alice to Jane.

"I'm afraid we've made a tiny mistake," Alice said calmly, her voice dripping with sweetness. Bella was amazed. It had been part of the plan, once they were inside and would be out of Edward's sight, to keep the conversation and interactions as light as possible, so as to avoid further trouble if – Bella didn't like to consider it – Edward _didn't _show. But still, to see Alice put on the act so flawlessly was almost unnerving.

"I'd call it more than a mistake," Jane snapped.

"Manners, my dear," Aro said softly. "I'm sure we'll be able to work this out, no need to be rude. Now, I'd guess that it has something to do with this human you've brought with you?"

"Unfortunately," Alice admitted, looking appropriately ashamed, like a child being brought into the principal's office. "You see, this is our friend, Bella Swan. As you know, we were living in Forks, Washington, until just recently and we went to school with her there. Well, we had this vacation planned out for a while when we felt it would be best if we moved, but as I'm sure you understand, why let a good vacation go to waste? And it's truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Bella."

"Of course," Aro conceded. "But I still don't understand how that brought you here."

"I'm getting to that, but stories are incredibly boring without background," Alice assured him. "Well, Bella here is incredibly clumsy. We haven't inspected it yet, but we're pretty sure she may _actually _have two left feet. Well, as luck would have it, she tripped and fell in an intersection and Jasper, chivalrous Southern gentleman that he is, managed to grab her right before she got hit by a car. It was just an instinct, to save a friend."

"You know," Aro mused softly, "that is something I've never understood about your coven – your compassion for humans is one thing, strange, but understandable – your occasional attachments to them... That is what truly baffles me. What is so special about this girl that you risked everything by exposing yourself to her?" This question was aimed at Jasper, who had thus far been hovering at the edge of the group, away from the smell of Bella as possible.

"Instinct, like Alice said," Jasper said with a small, respectful nod.

"Instinct would tell you to kill her, no matter how well-adapted you are. And my understanding is that you, Jasper, are the least adjusted of all of the... vegetarians, as you call yourselves." Aro paused for a moment, surveying Alice and Jasper, both of whom kept their masks firmly in place. "You know, I don't _want_ to delve into your minds... I feel like this situation isn't so serious that it's necessary to lie... And even if it is, the law holds. However, if you cannot give me a legit reason, I will have to find it myself," Aro said, his voice calm despite the clear threat. Bella wondered if he didn't already know what had happened, and why.

"The truth is—" Jasper started quickly and both Bella and Alice turned to look at him. This hadn't been anywhere in the plan. "Edward is in love with Bella. Now, he _had_ managed to keep it a secret from her, although I truly don't know how Bella didn't notice anything weird, but he would have killed me if he knew I just watched and didn't do anything to save her."

Aro surveyed him silently for a moment.

"Edward Cullen, in love with a human..." Aro trailed off, his face devoid of expression. He made no further comment on the subject however, instead saying, "It would have been an interesting fight. An empath and a seer versus a telepath. It's almost a pity it didn't happen," a grin spreading slowly over his creased features. Alice laughed softly. Bella didn't find anything funny about it; in fact, she found it sickening, and she was grateful that all she had to do to play her part was look confused and mildly frightened – for that was in reality how she was feeling.

"Why come to Volterra?" Aro asked.

"Sorry?" Alice chirped.

"Of all of the places, even in Italy, why, as vampires, did you bring her to Volterra on vacation?" Aro elaborated.

"Well, you have to admit it's a lovely city. I feel that everyone should see it once. We've visited Lajatico, as well. You know better than anyone there's no place in Italy more beautiful than Tuscany." Again Alice flashed him that winning smile. Bella was once more struck by the ease in which Alice seemed to be handling this situation. She was further surprised when Alice's eyes slid almost imperceptibly out of focus before her smile became fractionally wider.

---

Edward stalked down the alley, coming to a stop at the grate that covered the entrance to the sewers. He bent down and effortlessly pulled the slab of metal free before leaping down, landing in a crouch on the stone floor.

He reached the end of the tunnel in record time, bursting through the door into the brighter hall.

---

"So the question that remains is: what to do about this," Aro mused, his eyes flitting from Bella to the vampires, and back again. "By law, all three of you should be put to death."

Beside her master, Jane's mouth twitched into a slight smile. "But—" Jane's smile disappeared as Aro spoke again. "I believe there was no malicious intent... and if Edward is in fact in love with her, then she will likely be one of us soon... So is there harm? It's quite a paradox."

There was silence for a moment, and Bella held her breath. This was the moment of truth, wasn't it? So where was Edward?

"_Alice... am I going to die?" _her earlier words echoed in her head, and in that moment, she knew the answer to her own question, as well as Aro's.

Edward wasn't coming, and she was definitely going to die here.

---

Edward stalked past the reception area, casting a glare at the girl behind the desk. She may work for the Volturi, but she was still painfully human, and there were very few humans who would bait a vampire.

Once in the next hall, he could hear the thoughts of the guard. Most of their thoughts were on the newcomers, rumoured to be two of the Olympic coven and a human, for some reason. Few knew the whole story, and even fewer had any idea where they had gone, but most guessed that they had been taken to Aro.

He turned and started heading down the hall towards the audience chamber.

---

"If only I had some... assurance that what you're telling me is true," Aro mused. "That she knows only what she saw today. I may be willing to overlook that knowledge, considering the likelihood that it won't matter for long. After all, with such limited knowledge, few would believe her about it."

His eyes moved from Alice and Jasper to rest on Bella.

"I'd like to take a look at your mind," he said. Bella swallowed hard. That was one of the main things they had been hoping to avoid. She was nowhere near as good an actor as Alice or Jasper, and she definitely wouldn't be able to fool Aro.

But what choice did she have? She'd just have to take the chance that whatever kept Edward from hearing her thoughts would work on Aro, as well.

He held his hand out to her, and with only a moment's hesitation, she reached out and grasped it.

---

Edward finally reached the door to the audience chamber and paused, listening to the activity inside. Alice and Jasper's thoughts were there, along with those of a half-dozen others, and he realized, with a surge of relief, that he could hear one heart beating as well.

"Interersting," Aro's voice sounded. "Very interesting. Do your gifts work on her?"

"Yes," Alice answered for herself and Jasper. "But Edward's doesn't."

"I see," Aro said. "And where _is_ Edward?"

Alice's thoughts went into a flurry of excuses and alibis, none of which Edward felt would work. It was definitely now or never.

The door slammed open as he strode in and his mind was assaulted with everyone's surprised thoughts. He tried to pull Alice's from them, as she frantically thought instructions and explanations, as well as a recap of what had happened since they got there.

"Well, speak of the devil," Demetri muttered, the first words he had spoken since they had arrived in the audience chamber.

"Edward!" Aro greeted him happily, holding out his arms in welcome. "We were just talking about you."

Bella turned, her eyes disbelieving. Edward stood, sharply silhouetted against the dark antechamber, his eyes fixed on Aro.

"Good to see you, Aro. I only wish it had been under better circumstances," Edward returned the greeting. "Alice, Jasper," he acknowledged them, his eyes narrowing slightly. His eyes swept momentarily to Bella and she sucked in her breath, waiting to hear what he would have to say to her.

No words came, however, as his eyes flicked quickly back to Aro.

"Yes... And what do you have to say about these circumstances?" Aro asked.

"Well," Edward started, coming further in the room to stand by Alice. "I can honestly tell you that I don't know what to say."

"Edward," Alice started quietly but Edward held up a hand to stop her.

"You love the girl?" Aro asked after a moment. Edward laughed, a short, sharp sound from the back of his throat.

"I did," he said, still not looking at her, and Bella's heart plummeted. He had meant it. Everything he had said to her, despite Alice and Jasper's denial of the fact, had been true.

"And now?"

"And now... it's complicated," Edward said, seeming to weigh his words carefully. A smile spread across Aro's thin lips. He glanced from Bella to Edward, then to Alice and back to Bella before finally settling on Edward.

"Whether you still love her or not, I'm willing to bet you wouldn't want her harmed," Aro said softly. Dread gathered in Bella's stomach, coiling tightly as her breath caught in her throat.

"_Alice... am I going to die?"_

She looked at Alice, whose eyes were blank as she stared straight ahead, but her hand reached out to Jasper's, betraying fright or uncertainty, Bella couldn't tell which, but neither bode well for her.

"That is something I'd like to avoid, yes," Edward said slowly. "But I don't think Alice is going to agree to your terms."

"And yourself?" Aro asked.

"I suppose I would be willing to consider it."

"But if you join us, and don't plan on returning to the girl, then there is no reason to pardon her for what she knows," Aro said. "But then..."

"No," Edward nearly growled.

"You'd rather see her die today?"

"_Alice... am I going to die?"_

Edward didn't answer, his jaw set in a hard line. Aro turned to Bella, taking her face in his hands.

"You want to be one of us, don't you?" he said knowingly. "Now that you know, you crave it. Strength... Power... Immortality... You want all of it, don't you?" Bella couldn't answer. She couldn't breathe. Yes, she wanted to be a vampire, to be with Edward forever... But she didn't understand what Aro was asking her. "Edward never planned to turn you into a vampire. He's thought about it, but never truly considered it. He was going to let you die, a human, alone." A sickening smile spread across his face, and Bella bit her lip hard, trying to keep silent and still. His hands, which looked so brittle, clutched her face with amazing strength as he leaned closer to her. "I can grant you that wish, you know. I can make you one of us. All I want is for you to promise to stay here, in Volterra."

There was a sharp growl and both Bella's and Aro's heads snapped to look at the Cullens. To Bella's surprise, and Aro's by the look of it, it was not Jasper or Edward who had emitted the inhuman sound. The sharp, deep snarl had ripped from Alice's lips and she was now standing in front of the guard, about halfway between Jasper and Edward, and Aro and Bella.

"Don't lie to her, Aro!" Alice demanded. "You know no such thing. Do not lie to her just to get what you want!"

"What makes you think I'm lying to her?" Aro asked calmly. Alice narrowed her eyes and turned to Edward.

"Tell her, Edward! Tell her what a lie that all was!" she commanded. Edward stared back at her, his amber eyes cold.

"No," he said. "If this is what she wants, that's her business. She disregarded my wishes by coming here. I don't think that what I have to say will have much of an effect on her."

"Edward! Now's not the time to teach her a lesson! Tell her how you feel!" Alice growled, sounding genuinely panicked now.

"Fine," Edward said, walking swiftly forward to stand in front of Bella as Aro backed away from her. "Bella," he started, his cold eyes burning into hers. "You completely ignored your promise to me and purposefully put yourself in danger. You do what you want, with no regard to how it is going to effect those around you; those who care about you. You are selfish and I have no desire to be a casualty of that. Now, do what you please, as you always do. I want no part of it."

And there it was. Edward was leaving again, telling her the same thing, but this time with much more blatant, specific explanations. He had meant it, no matter what Alice and Jasper had said to the contrary.

"Goodbye, Bella," he finished.

She tried to make herself move, to speak, to do anything she could to stall until she could come up with something to make this better. But she seemed to be paralyzed. None of the signals from her brain seemed to be reaching her body.

"It was nice to see you again, Edward," Aro said. "But let's hope that next time it will be under more... agreeable circumstances."

Edward nodded curtly before stalking to the door that led to the antechamber. Bella tried to will herself to do something, but she couldn't. And then he was gone. It was all over. Had she been able, she would have been tempted to let out a bitter laugh. She had believed Alice, had trusted her at her insistence.

"_Alice... am I going to die?"_

It was okay. She had seen Edward again. She had no doubt anymore that it was over. There was no reason to keep going. This... This would be okay.

"You have until morning to make your decision," Aro said.

"My decision?" Bella repeated numbly. The words had no meaning to her; she couldn't remember even deciding to say them. They sounded foreign, felt heavy on her tongue. She couldn't process what was happening quickly enough.

"You will become one of us, a member of the Volturi, or," Aro paused and by his side a smile tinged Jane's stone features, "you will die, as the law requires."

"Why are you giving her the choice?" Jasper spoke up suddenly. "The Volturi isn't exactly known for handing a choice to those who break their laws. Especially not one so... generous."

"Let's just say that Miss Swan shows considerable promise," Aro said softly, still looking at Bella. "Demetri, please take her to one of the extra rooms. Jane, please show Alice and Jasper out."

In a few swift steps, Alice was by Bella's side, wrapping her arms around her.

"Listen to me, Bella," she hissed quickly, her mouth close to Bella's ear. "Do not agree to let them change you. Everything will be okay, trust me. Please, I know it looks bad, but just trust me one last time."

And then, as quickly as she had approached, she was back by Jasper's side. Jane swept forward and left the room, Alice and Jasper following closely behind her.

Bella was vaguely aware of her feet moving, of being escorted through more halls and passages by Demetri. The room he led her to was very basic, and looked almost like a jail cell, but slightly more comfortable. Sparsely decorated, with stone walls and floors and a heavy door with metal bars starting about halfway up and reaching to the top. It was nothing to a vampire, but would be more than sufficient to hold Bella, should she try to run. Not that she had any desire to. Whatever happened now didn't matter.

The door shut behind her, the bolt clicked, and she was alone.

"_Alice... am I going to die?"_

---

"Edward you great fool! You get back here!" Alice shouted, racing through the woods after his scent. Jasper was right behind her, trying but not quite succeeding in stopping her pursuit. "Edward! Come back here so I can rip you limb from limb! Do you realize what you've done?"

She skidded to a stop as his scent disappeared and looked around. There was a faint whooshing sound and suddenly she was knocked right off of her feet. She rolled and jumped back up, dancing out of Edward's reach as he advanced on her from the spot he had landed after dropping from the trees.

"Do I realize what _I've_ done?" he roared. "What _I've _done? _I _left her in Forks where she'd be safe! I left her there to _keep her safe! _And _you! _You just decide that you know better and bring her _here_, to the goddamned vampire capital of the _world! _What, communist China isn't warm enough this time of year? Not enough risk she'd _die_? You get back here, Alice Whitlock! One of us isn't walking away from this spot!"

"Oh yeah, because _you're _so perfect! Did it ever occur to you what your leaving would do to Bella? And oh yeah, you were so _awesome _and _selfless_, and _concerned for her safety_ when you outlined everything you _hated _about her!" Alice retorted, still dancing out of his reach for a moment before leaping up into the trees and freezing. Edward looked around for a moment before jumping up as well, whipping his head around to try and spot her.

"You know _nothing _about it. You didn't hear what Aro was planning," he hissed.

"Oh?" Alice replied, leaping from her spot and tackling him. They went tumbling to the ground in a heap, the dirt floor shaking beneath them as Alice twisted her hands into his hair and dragged him up before tossing him into a nearby tree. The trunk cracked as Edward fell back to the ground before leaping back up. "Then why don't you tell me about it Edward?" she finished as she sidestepped and dodged him. He spun around and crouched, his teeth bared.

"He was planning on giving her back to me, so that _I_ would turn her," he spat, springing at her and catching her around the throat, throwing her against another tree trunk.

'And what a _truly horrible _thing that would be," Alice yelled, scrambling back to her feet. The two were circling each other now. "It's _so _much better now that she's trapped with the Volturi, with the choice to either die in the morning or live forever with the thought that you hate her. Yes, it's clear that you have her best interests at heart!"

"He wanted me to turn her so that he could wait and see how her _potential_ panned out before taking her away!"

At the same time, they rushed forward, their bodies making a solid cracking sound as they collided in a flurry of fists and gnashing teeth.

Generally, Edward wouldn't raise a hand to a girl, but now, he was _furious_, and Alice was no china doll. She could hold her own well enough.

"Okay, okay," Jasper finally said, stepping in and separating them. "Edward, man, you know I love you like a brother, but I can't let you hit my wife. Darlin', you're not solving anything by fighting Edward."

"Oh shut up, Jasper!" Edward growled.

"Don't yell at him!" Alice shouted back. Jasper sighed.

"Like I said, not solving anything," he said.

"You solve it. Apparently you two are so good at solving things. I'm done," Edward spat, turning to leave. His path was caught off, however, when something huge fell from the trees and landed right in front of him.

"I hear you guys have caused quite the uproar," Emmett boomed, grinning. "Why wasn't I invited?"

"Emmett, now is _not_ the time," Edward said.

"Ah, right, yonder princess awaits in the scary monster's tower, and you have to ride off on your shining white steed to rescue her," Emmett said, nodding.

"I'm not going to save her," Edward said. "She can choose her own path. I'm _tired_, Emmett. I can't keep rescuing her."

"Oh no, you're going to rescue her," another voice called and they all turned to see Rosalie approaching. "You put our entire family in danger, talking about how 'she's your soul mate' or whatever, and I didn't like it but I was forced to put up with it. Now you are going to go save her because I did not do that for nothing!"

"You brought Rosalie? Really? Why did you have to do that?" Edward asked, turning back to Emmett.

"Chill, man. You know I can't leave her behind. She causes death and destruction wherever she goes."

"And if you don't stop, you'll be next," Rosalie spat. "This isn't the time to be joking around."

"How did you guys even know to come here?" Jasper asked.

"Oh come on," Rosalie said, rolling her eyes. "You _have _to know that everyone's talking about it. It's already reached the Denalis."

"Jeez, vampires are just the _worst _kinds of gossips," Alice murmured.

"I could be wrong, but aren't there more important things going on?" Emmett broke in.

"Not for me," Edward grumbled and then took off. They watched him go, unsure of what their next step should be.

---

**AN**: I'm not sure how I feel about the end of this chapter. Right now I'm going to go with the "it'll do" approach. I don't usually go with that on my stories, but well, it'll have to fly here. I'm happy with the actual meeting with the Volturi and the verdict, so at least the _really _important parts are acceptable. On the up side, it's twice as long as my previous chapters. O:

I think. I hope. Hmm.

SO NOW DEAR READERS. I would like to hear what you think Bella should choose. It may or may not actually come down to her choosing, but if it does (okay, I haven't actually written that far so I'm asking for help) I'd like to know which you would prefer. :3

As always, reviews are appreciated, all reviewers get a preview of the next chapter, and ten reviews will get the next chapter posted early. Or, you know, a handful of really nice reviews, apparently. Haha.

Thank you for reading!


	7. An Attempt and a Leap of Faith

**The Road Not Taken  
**Annaleise Marie

**Chapter Seven**: An Attempt and a Leap of Faith

**AN**: So I was thinking about writing a companion piece to this story about the life Bella had with Jacob, because when all is said and done, I'm going to leave it to you readers to decide which life Bella picks. Exciting, yes? So, after you read this chapter, if you review please include whether you'd be interested in this story. Thank you! :3

This chapter is a bit shorter than the previous one, but it's for effect. I'm not trying to cheat you guys. :D

I own no less than six pairs of Chuck Taylor converse, in assorted colours. I do not, however, own Twilight. That belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

---

"This did not go the way it should have," Alice sighed. She, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie were sitting at a table at the inn in Lajatico.

"What do you mean?" Emmett asked. "I mean, yeah, Edward's acting like an ass, but he has that streak, you know."

"I don't know. But in the future, I am very angry with myself for how this went," Alice said.

"What were you trying to do?" Rosalie asked.

"I'm not sure. It was all really vague. As soon as Edward followed through with leaving Forks, I kept seeing myself telling Bella... God, I don't know how many years down the road – she looked a lot older – that she needed to go back and find Edward."

"Go back?" Rosalie asked, raising one perfectly-sculpted eyebrow.

"I told you it was vague. So I figured I'd leave it alone, until it became clearer. It seemed like there was plenty of time to wait," Alice said, shifting in her chair to keep from sitting too still. "But then I saw myself."

"So? You keep an eye on your own future don't you? It would be pretty stupid to watch everyone's back but your own," Emmett said with a laugh.

"Well, yeah, but if I'm _in_ what I'm watching, I always see it from my point of view. This was _me_, in a mirror."

"So?"

"So, why would I be talking to myself in a mirror?" Alice said slowly.

"Because you're just that gorgeous?" Emmett guessed. Rosalie hit him on the shoulder and he laughed.

"No, Emmett. I was telling myself to go back to Forks, get Bella, and start looking for Edward."

"And that was it?" Rosalie asked. "How very detailed."

"No, I'm sure that wasn't it, but when I decided to listen to myself, it changed the future because... well, I don't know why. But it did. So I'm kind of flying blind here."

"Well, what are we going to do?" Jasper asked. The other three stared at him, looking surprised. "What?"

"_You're _asking _us_ to come up with a plan?" Emmett asked. "Oh man, we're really in deep shit, aren't we?" Jasper rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, I don't want to save her," Jasper said.

"What?" Alice asked. "Why not?" Bella was one of her best friends, and here was Jasper, fully ready and willing to just let her die.

"Think about it. If we save her, not only will we have the entire Volturi guard after us for the rest of her life, whichever way it goes, but we'll have to spend that time searching for Edward who, at the moment, is being too obnoxious and stubborn to deal with. And even if he wasn't, then what? We'd be faced with the same choices, one of us turns her, Edward, Carlisle, or Esme turns her, or the Volturi turns _or_ execute her. And no matter what the outcome, in all likelihood, the Volturi will kill us. You have to know when a battle just isn't worth fighting anymore."

"I agree with Jasper," Rosalie said. "She's caused enough trouble, for all of us. And she doesn't understand what it means to be one of us. And personally, if she's not willing to fight for her own life, which, based on your story, she isn't, then why should we risk our butts to save her?"

"Well, I don't agree!" Alice answered vehemently. "Bella's one of the family, human or not. And I'd like to think that if I were in her position, you all – and _especially _you," she added, glaring at Jasper, " – would come to help me."

"Alice, you know that's completely different," Rosalie said.

"It's not," Alice insisted. She set her jaw and leaned forward in her chair. "Emmett, what do you think?"

"Oh, come on, I don't want to—" Emmett started.

"EMMETT!" the other three yelled.

"Okay!" he boomed. "I think that Alice is right. We're kind of responsible for her being in this situation and well, even though it was _mostly_ her and Edward's fault – sorry, but it's true," he added as Alice glared, "– we're still a family. So we're still responsible for what happens to her."

"I just don't think it's worth the risk," Jasper said calmly.

"I never thought _she_ was worth the risk," Rosalie said.

"Don't agree with me if you're going to twist the meaning of my words," Jasper said, staring down at the table.

"Well, I'm going," Alice said, standing up and taking her jacket off the back of her chair. "You guys do what you want."

"I'm going with Alice," Emmett announced, standing as well.

"I cannot _believe_ you're going to go after all the trouble she's caused," Rosalie spat.

"Well, Rosie, you're welcome to come along. You can even be a hindrance if you really feel that strongly about it," Emmett said, grinning.

"Blue balls sound like enough of a hindrance to you?" she asked, smiling.

"Yup, that should do it."

"Jasper?" Alice asked. He sighed, standing as well.

"Might as well, if you're going. Looks like I'm going to be running from the Volturi for the rest of my life, anyway," he said. Alice smiled.

"You don't know that. You could go on with your life, forget about me."

"Yeah. Because I could easily forget the girl who spent all of her time waiting for me to show up, before I even met her. That sounds _really _easy to do."

"Now, Rosie, why can't we have that deeper connection?" Emmett asked teasingly.

"I could give you a deeper connection with my foot, if you'd like," she said, her eyes still narrowed.

"Sounds kinky. We'll have to try that later. For now, you're coming with us," Emmett said, grabbing her out of the chair and throwing her over his shoulder.

"Emmett, you put me down, you idiot! I already told you I'm not going!"

"Of course you are. Now stop struggling; you'll attract attention."

"Yeah," Rosalie grumbled from over his shoulder, waving at the confused-looking innkeeper. "We wouldn't want that."

---

Bella was lying on the bed in her temporary room, trying to mull over what had happened. Alice had lied to her. She had promised that she wouldn't do anything that would hurt her. Well, she was pretty sure that death would hurt.

But then, she'd lied to Alice when she said that she didn't care if she died, if Edward didn't want her. She was scared. She honestly hadn't thought it would matter, but now that the time was drawing nearer, she wished she had never left Forks.

Still she had another option. She had been asking Edward to make her a vampire for nearly a year now. And she supposed that now she could see why he kept refusing. It wasn't because he wanted to "preserve her soul" or that he was unwilling to "take away her life". He just knew he didn't really want to spend eternity with her.

But if that was true, then why should she care what he thought? Let him think she was selfish, that was _fine_. As long as he thought that she might as well prove him right.

Wouldn't want to disappoint him again.

---

"Do you think she'll choose to join us?" Jane asked, lounging in one of the throne-like chairs in the audience chamber.

"I don't know," Felix said, sounding bored.

"If she _is_ Edward's mate, she may choose to become a vampire, to be with him, even if she has to work for us first," Demetri added.

"Do you believe she is?" Jane asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I find it hard to believe that Edward would admit to loving her if she wasn't."

"True," Jane conceded, sounding disappointed. It seemed like nothing truly interesting had happened lately. It would be a shame if Bella survived.

"Well, he's going to be _very _upset when she dies, then," Felix said in that same bored monotone.

"So you think she'll choose to die?" Jane asked, her interest piqued once more. "I thought you didn't have an opinion on it?"

"Following Demetri's line of thinking, Bella probably loves Edward as well, and you know humans. They overreact more often than not. If she believes that he doesn't love her, do you really think she'll choose to live for eternity without him?"

"Hmm... Maybe this will be more interesting than I thought," Jane said, smiling. "I hope Aro will let Alec and I help."

---

Less than an hour after she had made her decision, Bella's conviction was wavering. Did she _want_ to live forever without Edward? Was it even worth it? He was the reason she wanted to become a vampire in the first place. If he wasn't there, what was the point?

So was she supposed to choose death?

Alice had told her not to worry, to trust her one last time. Could she? Was there even time for Alice to do anything? She noted the faint beams of light filtering in through the high window. Probably not.

She wasn't ready to die. She wished she had just stayed in Forks.

As the light brightened, she realized that the Aro and the guard would soon arrive to hear her answer.

---

What amounted to many stories below Bella, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie were zipping through the underground tunnels. They reached a fork in the passageway and skidded to a stop.

"Which way?" Emmett asked, looking first down one tunnel, then the next.

"They have her in the tower," Alice said. "They'll be going up there soon. Where's the tower, from down here?"

"That way," Rosalie said, nodding to the left. They all looked at her in surprise. "What? I know things."

"Aww. I knew you'd come in handy," Emmett said before they all dashed off.

"I should've let that bear eat you!" she shouted after him before following.

---

In the tower, Bella was busy pushing the bed across the room, directly under the window. She stepped up onto it and walked carefully across it to the wall, standing on her tiptoes to peer out of it.

_Oh good lord was she high up._

If the Volturi didn't kill her, the fall would. Unless the Cullens were nearby. Maybe Alice had known she would think of this? Was she or Jasper standing by, waiting to catch her? Or was she, once again, putting too much faith in Alice's gift?

Either way, she was going to die, and soon, she realized as she heard heavy footsteps approaching. She hoisted herself up and slid halfway out the window, fighting the urge to vomit as her heart jumped into her chest at the new angle on just how high she was.

The bolt on the door clicked open, and Bella slipped the rest of the way through the window.

---

Edward wished he could have fled, left the country, and just let events run their course. Instead, he was outside of the fortress-like building, listening intently, waiting for the single heartbeat to either stop or speed up, signaling the introduction of venom to Bella's body. He couldn't tell if it was masochistic or sadistic, but either way, he had to know.

He heard the lock click in the tower as the sun had almost completely risen over the horizon, and then the whooshing of air and a small shriek. He looked up to see Bella's body falling through the air, straight towards the rocks and crashing waves below.

Time slowed.

---

Alice stared in horror as Bella's feet disappeared through the high window.

"No!" she cried, racing forward, but Rosalie beat her there. Without a moment's hesitation, she, too, disappeared through the window. The other three followed without breaking stride.

"Well, that was unexpected," Emmett laughed as he followed Alice and Jasper out of the window.

---

Bella fell, the air billowing around her. Only a small scream escaped her throat as she plummeted towards the ocean below, the waves crashing against the rocky shore.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, waiting for the impact.

---

**AN**: This chapter is a little short for my tastes, but if I were to go into the next part of the story, it would end up at something like seven thousand words, which is a little excessive in my opinion.

So, guesses on what will happen, opinions on the companion piece, and general feedback would be much appreciative. Also, the usual, reviewers will get a preview, and ten reviews will get the chapter posted earlier. I might actually stick to it this time and not be wooed by the overwhelming niceness of the reviews I do get. Haha.


	8. A Fight and a Struggle

**The Road Not Taken  
**Annaleise Marie

**Chapter Eight**: A Fight and a Struggle

**AN**: This chapter gave me a hell of a time, for some reason. It's like I knew what I wanted to happen, but couldn't figure out how to. Much head/desk-ing ensued.

There have been some edits made to this since I sent out the previews, and that section was changed slightly. Sorry about that. -.-;;

Anyway, I own a lion and lamb ring set, but sadly, no one to give the lion ring to. I also don't own Twilight. That, of course, belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

---

Bella's body made solid contact with the water, and then with the rocks under the surface. The breath was knocked out of her, and as she tried to draw breath she felt water flood her lungs. She felt crushed and almost every inch of her body was screaming in pain. She could feel reality slipping away almost instantly.

_At least it was quick_.

---

"Where is she?" Alice asked as she landed. Bella shouldn't have been more than two seconds ahead of them, so why couldn't they see her? She looked at the others once more, to verify that it was true that none of them had caught her as she fell.

"I don't see her," Emmett said, scanning the rocky surface.

"I'm sure she hit the water," Rosalie said. "I saw her."

"We're going in?" Jasper asked.

"Might as well," Alice agreed.

Ten minutes later they reemerged. They had searched the entire area, moving with the tide, and had found no trace of Bella.

"You know what's weird, though," Emmett said, shaking water from his hair, "is that there's no smell of blood."

"Yeah, I noticed that," Alice said. "So what does that mean? Did she not actually hit the ground?"

"I was sure I saw her," Rosalie insisted.

"Wouldn't you know, Alice?" Emmett asked.

"Well, no, Emmett, I wouldn't," Alice snapped. "It's already happened, hasn't it?"

"You know, you've gotten very mean lately."

"Well excuse me, I'm a little stressed out, what with my _mortal _friend flinging herself from fifth-story windows and such!"

Jasper sighed, concentrating on calming everyone down. This wasn't helping them figure out what happened to Bella.

---

Edward shook his head to clear the water that was dripping from it as he hung his sopping wet shirt from the back of a chair before turning his attention back to Bella, stretched out on the couch. . She was still unconscious, but he could hear her heart beating strongly. He supposed it was just the shock of what had happened.

Dark bruises were developing on her arms, and most likely her back, from where she had fallen hard into his arms. There hadn't been time to find away to cushion her fall, and his body was as solid as the rocks she would have hit below. It had probably only been the buoyancy of the water that had stopped her from dying, even though he had caught her.

He was mad as hell. All he had asked of her was that she stayed safe. That was it. He didn't think it was too much to ask.

He couldn't let Aro know how much she still meant to him, not with the thoughts that were going through his head. He had wanted Edward and Alice for a long time, and he was going to use Bella to achieve that. He couldn't let Aro rip his family apart. It had been a poorly-formed plan, but all he had been able to come up with at the time. He would let Alice handle it. If she could rescue Bella, then he had nothing to worry about. If Bella chose to be a vampire, which, given what he had said to her and her personality, was what she would most likely choose if it came down to it, strictly out of defiance, well... at least she was safe, even if it wasn't what he would've chosen. And then he would have all of the time in the world to decide how to proceed.

But no, Bella couldn't even keep that simple. What had she been thinking? She couldn't have thought she would survive that. Not that he was under the impression that she had really given it much thought. If she had, Alice would have seen it and been waiting to catch her, rather than running around in the passages.

Seeing her fall had been one of the scariest things he had every witnessed in his life, and he had seen plenty of horrifying things, as long as he had lived. The Spanish influenza, serving in multiple wars alongside Jasper and Emmett (when you lived as long as they did, you began searching for ways to entertain yourself), trying to keep Bella safe from James, watching him brutalize her...

He closed his eyes tightly, trying to will the images away. Yes, he had seen many horrifying things, but watching Bella fall, her back arched, her slim figure a darkened silhouette against the sunrise-painted sky... that definitely topped the list.

He had run, not knowing exactly where he was going, but needing to get far away. They needed to talk, without interference, and he needed to make sure Alice couldn't follow them, at least for awhile.

He had ended up in Chambery, France, at one of their many estates across the world, Bella still unconscious in his arms.

And now, as he waited for her to wake up, he was having trouble reining in his anger and frustration, but it wasn't just that. Lacing through those emotions was a strong thread of fear; fear that she would continue following him, continue to put herself in danger, just to keep him near her.

The problem was, it would work. He loved her too much to let anything happen to her. As much as she wanted to keep her safe from himself and, as much as he hated to say it, the rest of his family, there were definitely worse dangers out there. Regardless, when it came down to it, they were all vampires.

How was he supposed to keep her safe from all of them, including himself, especially now that the Volturi were aware of her?

There was one sure way, and it was the only one he could think of. At the same time, he refused to consider it.

It was one of the times that he was even more frustrated than normal that he couldn't hear her thoughts. He wanted to know how many of these harebrained schemes were Alice's fault, and how much was hers. Especially the problems. Between Alice and Jasper, it was mind-blowing that their plans had gone so far awry, and he was curious as to how much was his fault, for using his own methods to try to make Bella cooperate with what he wanted and knew to be best for her, and how much was her own fault due to her stubbornness on the subject.

He would do anything to protect her, including... that... if it came down to it. But it was strictly a last resort, and at this point, not even considerable.

He opened his eyes again when he heard movement and a small whimper. Bella stirred, her teeth clenching together, probably because of the pain that was sure to be in her muscles, and of course resulting from the bruising. Her eyes opened, and after a moment, fell on him.

---

Alice was pointedly ignoring Emmett now. Jasper's power had seemingly effected her and Rosalie, but Emmett, hard-headed as ever, was plowing right on.

"Shut up, Emmett," Alice said suddenly, and all of their eyes snapped to her. "We have to go. Bella's in Chambrey."

"How—" Emmett started.

"Edward," Rosalie said. "He must have caught her, under the surface. That would explain why she hit the water, but wasn't there when we checked. And it all happened so fast, there wouldn't have been much time to think, and that's why Alice didn't see it."

"Right," Alice said as they took off, running North up the coast.

"Do you ever think maybe our abilities are kind of inconvenient? I mean, if it hadn't been for his speed, we would've known, and wouldn't have spent the last half hour arguing about it," Emmett shouted as they ran.

"No, if you hadn't felt the need to bait Alice, we wouldn't have spent the last half hour arguing," Jasper yelled back.

---

Bella's eyes took a second to adjust as she took in the bleary shapes around her. A shock of bronze and alabaster caught her eye, and she struggled to focus on it. She almost laughed out loud as the figure came into focus. She had been right in saying that Edward was like an angel. If she was dead, and this was Heaven, this angel was a spitting image of him.

Except, you know, angry. Were angels allowed to be angry? What liars those painters were, the serene masks always in place upon the canvas.

She was suddenly aware of the pain that seemed to be trying to overtake her body and winced. Did pain exist in Heaven? Was she still alive, then?

If she was alive, that meant...

"Edward!" she gasped, trying to sit up and cringing when the pain intensified.

"Lay down, Bella," he said shortly.

"But... Where are we... How did you..."

"France. Near the border of Italy. This is one of our estates, but we haven't used it since the last time we lived here. Fifty-three years now," he explained. He offered up the useless details to distract him from the emotions bubbling up under the surface. He needed to stay calm.

"But... Why are we here... And why are you here, and not Alice and Jasper?"

"Maybe because you threw yourself out of the window before they could get to you," he said, his voice sharp despite his best attempts. "It could have something to do with that."

Now Bella was getting angry. Who was he to get upset over what she had done. It's not like he had cared what was going to happen to her, anyway. He had made that perfectly clear.

"Sorry, maybe I should have been more careful with the way I phrased that question," she spat. "Why did you bother saving me? I figured it would be a relief to you if I had died."

"Is that why you did this?" he asked, his voice emotionless but his eyes alight with anger. "To punish me for what I did?"

"Don't be stupid," Bella grumbled. "You should know better than that."

"Should I? You haven't really done anything to convince me otherwise."

"I'm not really getting why you care so much. You've made it clear that you would be much better off without me," she said, her eyes narrowed.

"I did it to keep you safe," Edward hissed.

"Yeah, and we've seen how well that worked."

"Because you didn't listen to me," he said, on his feet. When had he stood up? He couldn't remember. He felt antsy, he couldn't sit still. There was too much energy, too much emotion building up inside.

"I don't have to," Bella said calmly. "You don't get to tell me what to do anymore, you left."

"You petulant little girl," Edward sneered. The anger was quickly winning out over the concern. "You just don't get it, do you?" he growled, his fist making solid contact with the wall behind him. Small pieces of the stone chipped away and fell to the ground.

"Oh, I get it," Bella snapped, trying not to appear frightened by this new, more savage side of Edward. "What I don't get is why you think I should care about what you think or what your motives are. Or why you even care, yourself."

"Why I think you should..." Edward trailed off, his eyes flaring. "Why shouldn't I care?"

"Well, I'm just an annoyance to you! I'm selfish and all that, right? You left to get away, so why don't you go away? I'm not going to follow you this time. I get it, okay? So why don't you just go?"

"I would go away if I thought you wouldn't put yourself in danger at every turn! I said I didn't want to be near you, not that I wanted you dead! In fact, I seem to remember saying the complete opposite when I left!"

---

Alice skidded to a stop, as did the others as soon as they realized she was no longer running. Her eyes were wide and panicked.

"Alice?" Rosalie asked hesitantly.

"There's no time," she said quietly. "We're not going to be able to get there in time."

---

"So I'm supposed to just blindly do whatever you say, but you don't even have to keep a promise to me?" she asked snarkily. Where was this coming from? It was like all of the hurt and betrayal was suddenly bursting forward in the worst possible way. She wanted to make Edward feel a fraction of what she had felt.

"I told you, I said I would stay as long as it was best for you. It wasn't, anymore, Bella! It wasn't safe, or healthy for you to be so close to us. You don't seem to get that we're not human! We're not a domesticated creature who can just be around people without expecting something bad to possibly happen! And I didn't want to risk it happening to you!"

"I don't care what happens to me, Edward! It doesn't matter if I'm not with you!"

"That's what you want, then? After everything you went through in the last few days, after everything I said, everything Aro told you, and the Volturi planned to do, after everything Alice put you through, the danger she put you in, you still want to be a part of this world?" Edward demanded, and he would swear, for a minute, despite the fact that he knew it was impossible, that the anger was actually physically raising his temperature. It was bubbling over. He wasn't going to be able to stop it.

"Yes," Bella said, her voice steady, sure of her answer, even if it was tainted with exasperation.

Something in Edward snapped. His nerves, frayed from the events of the last few days, finally gave out, and he couldn't control it anymore.

---

"What's going to happen?" Emmett asked.

"Edward's going to..." Alice trailed off. "It keeps changing. He's either going to turn her or..."

"Or?" Jasper prompted her, his stomach dropping. He knew the _or_. They all knew it.

"We have to go," Alice said, taking off once more.

"You said we won't get there in time!" Rosalie shouted.

"We have to try!"

---

"I am so sick and tired of fighting you on this," Edward hissed, stalking towards her. "One day, you are going to hate me for doing this to you. When that happens, remember that you're the one who wanted it."

Bella's stomach dropped. This wasn't what she meant. She wanted to be a part of this world, to be by his side forever, but not like this, not with Edward doing it out of anger, out of frustration. She wanted him to do it because he wanted what she did, to be with her forever.

His hand was at the top of her throat, turning her head sharply to the side as his snarling mouth opened.

"No!" she screamed, bringing her own hand up to his face, pressing her palm against the bottom of his jaw, as if that would stop him.

---

Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett burst through the door of the large house, stopping to listen for Bella and Edward.

"No!" They heard Bella's shrill yell from the third floor and took off up the steep flight of stairs.

---

Edward heard his family clamouring up the stairs and instinctively turned his head to the door. Bella's hand slipped with the movement, skimming up and scraping against his teeth with all of the strength she had been exerting. She gasped as she felt them slice cleanly into her skin, and as blood ran into Edward's mouth, the little bit of control he still seemed to be holding onto slipped away at the taste, his teeth clamping down.

Bell screamed out as the pain hit. The door flew open and suddenly Edward was pulled away as Rosalie pried his jaw open and Emmett wrestled him to the other side of the room.

Jasper's throat burned at the heavy scent of Bella's blood in the air, venom flooding his mouth, and Alice shoved him back out the door, slamming it shut so forcefully that it fell off of the hinges. She uttered a curse and pushed him back again, following after him and dragging him down the stairs as he strained to get back into the room.

Bella's mind was racing, going too fast to truly process anything. She could see Edward fighting Emmett, who had him in a headlock a couple yards away. She could see Rosalie, her cell phone out as she yelled at someone on the other end. She could hear snarls and commotion coming from just outside of the room. She saw Rosalie's head snap towards Emmett, saw her yelling something, saw Emmett grasp Edward around the middle and toss him through the large glass windows before jumping out after him.

And then everything went black.

---

**AN**: You see why this chapter inspired so much head/desk? And I'm still not completely happy with it. What I wanted to happen, happened, but I may still go through and edit it for flow issues. Hmm. Thoughts? Remember, keep your criticism constructive, please.

I feel the need to say that, no matter what direction this story takes, Reneeseme will _never _exist. I could go on for hours about why, but I'd rather not insult the whole fandom.

On the subject of insult, and canon for that matter, I do not, for lack of a better, more polite word, _care_ about _your _head canon. For those of you who may not know, "head canon" is what one person holds true about a story, which was not explicitly stated, but was picked up by the reader's personal interpretation of the text. It can be argued to be true, but is not necessarily true, and differs for every person. Like, in my head canon, Edward was a mentally and emotionally abusive asshole. Other people think he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. /shrug I simply cannot take everyone's head canon into account. That would be chaos. If you don't think that Edward would say what he said in chapter whatever, that's fine. If it really bothers you so much, and you choose not to read my story, that's fine, too. But please have a little faith in me as an author. True canon shows that Edward _would_ lie to Bella, or about Bella, and leave her, if he thought it would keep her safe. It also shows that he can be insensitive and self-centered. Did I say he abandoned her or was even telling the truth? No. It will all work out in time, believe me. And I have ten years to work through in this fic. It can't be all pretty and perfect right away, as far as the relationship goes. That would be boring. /end rant

I guess I'll stop rambling and just clear up any further questions/concerns/whatever in replies? Yes.

Okay, you know the drill. Every review gets a preview of the next chapter, ten reviews gets you the chapter earlier! Thank you for reading!


	9. A Death and a Rebirth

**The Road Not Taken  
**Annaleise Marie

**Chapter Nine**: A Death and a Rebirth

**AN**: I own ticket stubs to every concert I've ever been to. I do not, however, own Twilight. That would be Stephenie Meyer.

---

Rosalie found herself abruptly alone in the room with Bella. Everything had happened so quickly that she hadn't realized that Emmett had been the last to leave. She could hear him and Edward struggling outside and Alice trying to calm Jasper down upwind. Carlisle was yelling at her through the phone.

"Rosalie! What's going on over there?" he asked. She brought the phone back to her ear just as Bella's mouth opened and she let out a high-pitched scream. One long, unbroken note, piercing the air. "Is that Bella? What the hell happened?"

"Edward," she said shortly. "You'd have to ask him or Alice for more details. Or Bella, when she wakes up. By the time we got here, he had already bitten her."

"So she's changing, not dying?" Carlisle asked.

"Unless there's a way to stop it. We all know that Edward's going to hate himself when he comes back to his senses if this change happens."

"That, and you don't want her turned," Carlisle said calmly.

"Carlisle!"

"I doubt there's anything you can do by this point, unless one of you wants to _try_ to suck out the venom. I wouldn't recommend it though. It's probably too far into her system, as it is. Besides, I don't think any of you could manage it, really. It was hard even for Edward to stop."

"So we're just going to let it happen?" Rosalie asked, almost jumping as another scream tore from Bella's throat.

"Unless you want to kill her, and explain to Edward why you did it," Carlisle said calmly.

"Why are you so okay with this?" Rosalie demanded, turning her back on the screaming girl on the couch.

"Because," Carlisle sighed. "It was meant to happen. I didn't really expect it to be this soon, but it was still going to happen. How's Jasper doing?"

"What?"

"Well, he's there with you, isn't he? The Denalis said that he was in Volterra with Alice and Bella. How's he doing? I'm sure Bella's bleeding."

"Oh. Yeah. Alice took him outside. He'll be fine."

"Tell him not to torture himself. He can leave if he needs to. And if he does decide to stay, clean everything the second she stops bleeding. It shouldn't be long now," Carlisle said. "Should Esme and I come up there?" he added as another scream ripped through the air. Rosalie turned and looked at Bella. Her hands were clenched like claws into the upholstery of the couch, her eyes wild, teeth clenched together, that same shrill scream issuing from her. She was managing to scream that loudly, that clearly, _through her teeth_.

"That might be best. She doesn't seem to be having an easy time with it," she said.

"No one ever has 'an easy time of it'," Carlisle pointed out. "We'll be there as soon as possible. Where's Edward?"

Rosalie strode to the broken window, looking down on the scene three stories below her.

"Out on the front lawn fighting with Emmett."

"Well," Carlisle said hesitantly. "Thank goodness for country property, then. Try to keep him there. When he finally calms down he'll probably want to flee."

"Will do. See you soon," Rosalie said, snapping her phone shut. "Hey Emmett," she called down to the men fighting outside. "Carlisle says to keep him here."

Emmett grinned, throwing her a mock salute before slamming Edward to the ground just as he launched himself at him and sitting resolutely on his back.

"Emmett! Get the fuck off of me so I can tear you apart and set you on fire!" Edward growled. Emmett laughed. After so many years, hearing the only thing that would actually work threatened was a little comical.

"No can do, man. Sorry," Emmett said, pushing on the back of Edward's head so that it was pressed against the grass. "Now just calm down a bit."

Upstairs, Bella's screaming continued, renewing the fight in Edward as he clawed at the ground, trying to pull himself from under Emmett. When that didn't work, he twisted around until he was on his back, with Emmett still on top of him.

"You know man, this seems a little more gay, but that alone is not going to make me move," Emmett said with a laugh. He dodged one of Edward's fists and his eyes narrowed. "What are you even fighting for now, man? When this started, you were in a blood frenzy. But that's not the case anymore, is it?"

He caught Edward's arms as they came flying at him once again and pinned them to his sides, forcing his face to hover closer to Edward's.

"Even gayer, man," he said as Edward continued to struggle, digging his feet into the ground and straining his legs, trying to find leverage against Emmett. "I'd stop that, unless you really want to see what I'll have to do with your legs."

Edward threw him a disgusted look. How could he be joking around at a time like this? Now that the smell of Bella's blood had faded a little in the air with the distance, and the taste had left his mouth, he was acutely aware of her screaming, of the quickened trill of her heart, beating so fast it seemed to hum, so hard that he was sure any moment it was going to simply explode in her chest.

Her screams rang in his ears, piercing him to the core, renewing his struggles with Emmett. He had to get to her. He had hurt her. Hurt her? Fuck that. He had, on all technicalities, killed her.

At that thought, almost as a confirmation, her heart gave one last thud and a final scream ripped from her throat before there was silence. Complete. Absolute. Suffocating.

He heard Alice and Rosalie's designer heels clicking up and down the stairs of the house and then the strong, harsh smell of straight bleach, cleaning the spilled blood and purging the last of its scent from the air. Edward could hear Jasper pacing in the backyard, but he sounded less agitated, and he knew why. No pulse and no blood meant no human. Even her scent had changed, he realized as the wind gusted through the broken window, circulating the stale air of the room out into the yard. It was definitely still Bella, still a scent that he would recognize anywhere, but it was less... appealing. Or at least, as a meal, anyway.

He was going out of his mind.

What had he done? He had allowed her to bait him, allowed her to bring out the side that he had tried for so long to pretend to her didn't exist. For the last year, from the second he had seen her talking to Jessica Stanley, all he had wanted was to protect Bella. But in that moment, when she had argued with him, accusing him of not caring, telling him that he had no right to care, the monster had come out.

This time, unlike the other times the monster had come out, it wasn't all about thirst. It was also about pride. He wanted to show her that he had been right, had been doing what was best for her; that he knew better than her just what it meant to be one of them.

He had said that she would hate him for it, and he knew, especially with everything that had gone wrong in the last twenty-odd minutes, that she definitely would. In that twenty minutes, he had lost Bella, from her life, to his non-life, to –in all likelihood– the next life, if there was such a thing.

He was torn between the need to see her, to ensure that she was turning, and not simply dead, and the need to flee; to run as far away as possible. This silence was worse than the screaming, and that had been like a quick punch to the gut each time as it was.

---

It was some time after Carlisle and Esme finally arrived that Emmett finally allowed Edward to get back up, catching him by the arm and dragging him inside and upstairs to the room where Bella still lay. She was not as peaceful as she had sounded, though. Her hands were still twisted into the upholstery, her eyes wide, unseeing, and wild, flitting around the room. Her mouth was open in a silent scream, her neck strained and face contorted in pain.

There it was again, the swift punch to the gut – he had done this to Bella.

"What are you doing?" Rosalie asked sharply and Edward's eyes swung to her, only to see her eyes fixed on Emmett, not him. He too looked to see Emmett's mouth twisted into a slight smile, his shoulders shaking slightly, and by the sound of it, holding his breath.

At Rosalie's question, he opened his mouth and allowed the laughter to come out, causing Alice, Carlisle, and Esme to look up as well from Bella's side. He doubled over, his hands braced on his knees as the laughter shook his body.

"What are you laughing at?" Alice demanded, her eyes narrowed.

"She's trying to scream," Emmett started, his laughter cutting him off for a moment before continuing. "But she's not breathing. She's forgotten how to scream," he laughed. There was silence following his explanation and Edward's stomach twisted in disgust. Before he could say anything, though, Carlisle spoke.

"That is not in any way funny, Emmett," he said calmly, turning his attention back to Bella.

"Yeah," Alice added. "I seem to remember someone curled into a ball, whimpering for a week. At least she's not being annoying about it."

"Hey, I was also nursing wounds from a grizzly bear, thanks," Emmett said. "I didn't have the luxury of a nice, dark, quiet room and being in relative health."

"Shut up, Emmett," Jasper called from downstairs as Alice bristled.

"All of you, stop it," Esme said shortly. "Emmett, there is nothing funny about this situation. I know you deal with things by joking, but now is not the time. Both of you, it's not necessary to bring up each others pasts. Everyone has a different experience with this, and you all know it's strange to have to relearn everything as a different being. Since Bella doesn't have to breathe, she's probably having trouble figuring out how to force her body to."

"Esme's right," Carlisle said. "In fact, it's probably best if you're not here when she wakes up. God knows how she'll react to your attitude as a newborn," he added, looking at Emmett. "Maybe it would be best if you and Rosalie left for a while." Rosalie nodded, not seeming bothered in the least by Carlisle's instructions, and Edward could hear a certain amount of relief in her thoughts. It didn't bother him. He was almost envious that she was allowed to leave.

"What now?" Esme asked, turning her attention back to Bella as Rosalie and Emmett left.

"Now, we wait. There isn't much else that we can do," Carlisle answered.

---

Bella didn't know how long she remained unconscious, burning, fighting against the pain. On one level, she knew there wasn't really any fire, any source for the burning flames that seemed to be licking at her body; but on another level, she felt that pain this severe should have a cause.

She could register nothing to make her believe that she was still alive. She had never been more aware of her own heart until it was no longer beating, and she couldn't have pulled oxygen into her lungs if she had tried. She couldn't move, stuck in the same position that she had last assumed. Maybe she was dead. Maybe this was hell. That would explain the fire. What had she done to deserve hell? Was loving someone who was arguably damned, like Edward, bad enough to send her there by association?

There were times when she thought she heard things separate from her, from her own burning twisted hell. The trill of Alice's voice, Jasper's deep, Southern drawl, questions directed at someone who never answered. She felt like, on some level, the questions made sense, and that she should recognize the third person, whether they spoke or not. But she couldn't bring that knowledge to the front of her mind, couldn't force it to become a sufficient distraction to the pain.

Time ceased to mean anything. She may have been burning for hours, days, weeks, years... It may have only been a few minutes, for all she knew. It all stretched on into what felt like eternity.

So she didn't know how long it had been before the pain started to slowly retreat, ebbing inward until it was settled only in the back of her throat, a dull burning sensation, an itch for something she couldn't immediately identify. She opened her eyes, immediately overwhelmed by the bright, vibrant colours. She felt like she had never seen anything properly in her life until that moment.

She heard a sharp intake of breath and her body tensed for a fraction of a second before she found herself suddenly on the other side of the room, crouched down, her body coiled tightly, ready to attack if need be, her eyes wild and fixated on the bronze-haired vampire who was much, much to close for comfort.

His face pulled at her memories, everything about him from the way he stood to his intense eyes evoked a flurry of emotions that she couldn't sort out. One part of her wanted to run to him, to embrace him, to comfort him in some way, for something.

Another part wanted to seize him by that thick, bronze hair and beat his head against the hardwood until it broke through the ceiling of the second floor.

---

**AN**: So it was my understanding in the series that Edward is faster than Emmett, and has the advantage of hearing his thoughts, but that Emmett's actually stronger, so if he _could_ take Edward by surprise, he would win. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, I'm not sure if Smeyer ever actually used the phrase "blood frenzy", but I've heard it used in numerous stories in numerous fandoms, so I have to figure it's passable. If she _did_ have a specific super-special term for it, feel free to tell me.

Just a head's up – as for Bella's super-controlled, super-easy newborn-ness: Not in my story. The only satisfactory answer Smeyer gave as to why she wasn't a raging, out-of-control newborn was that she had "had time to mentally prepare herself". In my story, that time is cut down to about one-third. Good-bye, super control!

So, a few clarifications: The review that inspired last chapter's rant on head canon was not a flame, per se. It wasn't... _rude_, exactly, but wasn't in any way constructive, either, and really had nothing to do with my story other than the fact that I didn't follow her head canon of Edward's characterization. But still, not quite a flame. I should have been more specific about that.

Also, an anonymous reviewer, **silvery-midnight** asked about the ring, and can she just take it off to go back, or does she have to wait until it's time for her to choose, etc. Well, this is what we writers call a plothole, and I was wondering when someone would spot it. I actually had a plan for this in the beginning, but then with other stuff going on, forgot about it entirely. But since silvery-midnight asked, I'll take this opportunity to explain it.

Bella does not have the ring during the majority of this story, because past!Bella did not have the ring. So it's like, she used it, but she won't have it until she hits that point again. I guess in theory, if she had it, she could take it off to go back to the present, but considering she thinks she's in the present... You know, my head hurts something awful now. D: Just think of it like... Jumanji. XD Once you start playing, you have to finish the game. There's no other way out. Haha.

Thank you also to **Lily**, **Whitney**, and **Lilabeck**, who reviewed anonymously. Anonymous reviewers, please remember that if you want your preview, you need to leave your email with your review. If you are not comfortable posting your email publicly, mine is available on my profile and you may email me personally. Please include something about or this story in the subject line. Also, if you include your email in your review, you have to replace the symbols with (at), (dot), (underscore), (dash), etc, or they won't show up.

Now I'll stop rambling and close with the usual, all feedback is incredibly appreciated, all reviews get a preview of the next chapter, and ten reviews will get you the chapter early! :D


	10. A Demolition and a Fake Out

**The Road Not Taken  
**Annaleise Marie

**Chapter Ten**: A Demolition and a Fake Out

**AN**: This is one of those chapters where you are going to have to have faith in me as an author, and faith in my knowledge of canon. I think through every inch of this plot to the point of near-obsession. If you don't believe me, just ask **.destiny**. She's been forced to listed to me agonize over it on a near-daily basis in class to the point that the teacher moved her to the other side of the room and I'm sure she's wanted to just tell me to shut up. XD

Also, I was still short one or two reviews for the early update BUT I'm going ahead and posting this because I fail at life. My computer sits beside my bed, and my bed equals sleep. This means that a half-asleep Anna rolls over and refreshes her email page, reads her review alerts, and then goes to sleep. Then she forgets which ones she has replied to, and sent out the previews to, and which ones she hasn't. Normally, this site only lets you reply to reviews once, but that hasn't been the case lately, so instead I went ahead and updated. I hope that's okay. I'll be more careful about the reviews for this chapter.

Anyway, I own many colourful knee socks, but for some reason no complete pairs. I do not, however, own Twilight. That belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

---

Bella tried to sort out her thoughts, but it was difficult to focus on them rather than the fine particles of dust that lingered in the air, the sweet smell of grass floating in through the broken window on the rain-tinted wind, the shine of every hue in Edward's hair.

She still couldn't remember who he was. Her feelings were muddled and indistinct, but after a few tense minutes in which he just stood there, his eyes not meeting hers, his neck arched ever-so-slightly to the side in a decidedly submissive position, she was sure it was not anger.

It was hurt. A level of hurt that made venom flow to her mouth and a snarl rip from her lips as her teeth snapped harshly together. Acutely aware of her new strength, she took instinctual pleasure in the fact that she could now return the hurt, make him feel what she felt, even if it was to be manifested in a physical way. Her memory was still fuzzy as to who he was, or what he had done, but she was sure he was responsible for the festering, terrible pain.

---

Alice heard the thunder-like crack before she had a chance to see what was coming. She froze, her eyes on Jasper, who had gone strangely tense and still, even for a vampire. It wasn't thunder. Something had happened.

They both leaped to their feet, tearing up the stairs, listening to the sharp cracks and thuds until they burst through the door to the room that had housed Bella for the last two weeks, gasping at the sight that met their eyes.

Bella was stalking towards Edward, who was slouched on the floor, his back against the nearly-collapsed outer wall of the room. With swift, sure movements, she grasped him by the throat and turned on her heels, throwing him once more across the room. He made no move to brace himself against the impact, and even though Alice and Jasper knew he would be relatively unharmed by the wall, which gave way, a support beam snapping like a twig, they flinched nonetheless.

They stood in shock for a moment, unable to react to what was happening. They both recalled with intense clarity what it was like to be a newborn, the lack of control, the raw emotion and new instincts that they hadn't yet learned to control, but this – this was unprecedented.

Jasper was the first to act, his face and general demeanour now calm and sure as he moved towards Bella.

---

Edward didn't move as he watched Jasper. He hadn't moved since Bella had first woken up, short of the times _she _had moved him. After what he had done, he deserved anything she did to him. He would allow it, welcome it with open arms.

He could hear Alice's thoughts racing, trying to pick out the future based on whatever Jasper was doing, but having little luck. Bella's inability to focus on any one thing for long was clouding her visions, changing one before it had the chance to solidify, and then abruptly changing it again.

He wasn't sure what Jasper was going to do. His mind was as blank as his face. He approached Bella slowly, ignoring her territorial snarls and defensive position, and sank down onto the floor, his eyes unfocused and his mind blank. After a few moments, Bella began to react, but not in the way Edward had expected. He had expected her to rip Jasper's head off, which was one of the most commonly-appearing visions flickering through Alice's mind. Instead, her eyes became glassy, unseeing, and she became incredibly still.

He had never seen Jasper cause a reaction quite like this, so intense and overtaking, but he didn't have much time to dwell on it before the effects began to hit him as well, his eyes sliding out of focus and his mind filling with a dull buzzing, not unlike the white noise emitted by idle electronics.

---

Alice stopped searching the future after a few moments. She couldn't see clearly what would happen when Jasper let the two of them out of their stupor, but for now, the danger had passed.

She ventured back downstairs and out on the front porch, listening intently for Carlisle and Esme to return from hunting while her sight was focused on the three upstairs. It wasn't long before she heard the light, quick footsteps and the telltale displacement of air, the self-made wind as they approached at full speed.

They stopped in front of her on the porch, Carlisle's face slightly wrinkled in concern. Esme's eyes wide.

"What was all of that noise?" she asked, her voice full of motherly concern.

"Bella woke up," Alice said quietly. "She and Edward were fighting... Or, she was fighting."

"What?"

"She just... I don't know, I think she hasn't really come to her senses yet, and she sees Edward as a threat, or maybe she's mad or something. It's kind of hard to tell," Alice said sheepishly, sorry that she couldn't offer more of an explanation. "Edward wasn't fighting back at all. He was just letting her throw him around. The room is kind of a wreck. Support beams broken, the walls caving in, the whole nine yards."

"Where are they now? It's so quiet," Carlisle said, peering into the house.

"Jasper's keeping them calm, for now. He has them in some sort of stupor," she said as they made their way inside, starting up the stairs cautiously, listening for any sign of movement. They heard a low murmuring as they approached the room, the words indistinct, somehow muffled, and entered the half-destroyed room, looking to the side to see Bella and Edward by the missing window, him embracing her from behind, his arms wrapped securely around her shoulders, his face buried in her neck and hair. The words, still nearly inaudible, were coming from him, his tone desperate, almost pleading. Jasper looked at them as they observed the scene.

"I stopped manipulating both of them a minute ago. Bella still hasn't come out of it," he said by way of explanation. "I'm not sure if she can hear him or not."

"Do you see anything, Alice?" Carlisle asked, not taking his eyes from the pair.

"I can't see what _will_ happen, for sure," Alice said, frustrated. This whole trip had annoyed her, as far as her visions went. "But of the possible outcomes, I don't think they'll keep fighting."

"What are the possible outcomes?" Esme asked.

"They're going to leave. I'm not sure if it will be together, or separately. That keeps changing," she said quietly.

---

Edward shut his eyes, tinted red from the small amount of Bella's blood in his system. He didn't know how long it would be until she came out of Jasper's trance, and he wanted to say as much as he could while he had the chance, just in case she could hear him, and hold her now in case she wouldn't let him later.

"I don't blame you for hating me," he started. "I knew you would, and I deserve it. I would do anything to take it back, to put things back the way they were. I'm so sorry for what I've done; what I've said."

He could hear Alice, Carlisle, and Esme coming upstairs, their footsteps slow and light.

"I love you, Bella," he continued. "I wish you could remember that, or believe it. I was doing what I thought was best for you. I never meant for it to turn out this way."

He was vaguely aware of Jasper explaining to the others what was happening, and Alice telling them the options, that they would both leave, but possibly not together.

"I will never leave you again," he whispered. "I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, if I have to. I owe you that much. And one day, when you're more adjusted to this life, I will still be waiting, and ready to start our life together; the one you always wanted... the one I tried to deny you. I'm so sorry."

Bella blinked, her head turning slightly and her teeth pulling slightly at her bottom lip. Edward pulled away, ready to allow her to continue her rampage.

---

Bella felt like she had been dreaming. She was in a state of limbo, unable to react to anything around her, still hearing and seeing, but unable to speak or move. She was aware of the arms wrapping around her, and she forced herself to process the whispered words.

All of this pain she felt – he seemed to be feeling it too. That knowledge acted as a balm to the wound, and she felt the fight leave her. She no longer desired to cause him pain. At least, not in that sense.

But there _was _something she wanted – needed – desperately. The burn in the back of her throat was intensifying. She needed something... what was it? Coming out of the fog, she struggled to remember how to speak, to put a name to this need.

"I'm thirsty," she finally said, surprised by her own voice. It was the first time she had heard it since the change, and it was distinctly different, taking on the bell-like quality of Alice and Rosalie's voices. She heard an amused sound and turned her head to see the three vampires by the doorway.

"I'm sorry," Alice said, laughing quietly. "We were so worried about what was going to happen, and then that – that was so anticlimactic."

---

Watching Bella hunt was both majestic and terrifying for Edward. The careful, calculating, instinctively graceful movements and predatory gaze was so different from her human mannerisms. It was almost as if she was a different person altogether. He knew it was a newborn characteristic, and although the grace and agility would never leave, she would one day return to the person she had once been. Still, it left him feeling ill at ease as he watched from a distance.

It wasn't long before she was approaching Lyon. Edward could guess what was going to happen. She had passed up too much wildlife on the way to not see it coming. He was powerless to stop it, he knew. Bella wouldn't be able to control it. That was something that would come with time, and practice.

Lyon was a busy city, one of the largest metropolitan areas of France, and it was all Edward could do to try and steer her to less populated streets and allies. The last thing they needed to do was attract attention to the fugitive newborn and accomplices in what was practically the Volturi's backyard.

It wasn't long before she chose her prey near the Jardin botanique de Lyon: a tall, blonde American male, probably on vacation, and Edward wondered if it was unexpectedly good planning on her part, or sheer dumb luck that she had picked a tourist, someone who may not be missed for quite a while, as opposed to a local, who probably had family and friends in the area who would quickly notice their disappearance.

Without hesitation, she struck, taking the man, easily seventy pounds heavier than her, to the ground, her teeth sinking cleanly into his carotid artery, neatly severing it. The smell of the fresh blood spilling out made Edward's head spin, and he held his breath, looking away while she drank.

He wasn't disgusted with her, so much. It was to be expected, after all. Human blood was the intended diet of vampires, and it was difficult for much older, more practiced vampires, such as Jasper, to stick to their "vegetarian" diet. No, he was shocked by the sharp contrast between his Bella, the one he had fallen in love with, struggled to keep safe, fought with himself not to kill, and this new Bella. At moments like this, it was hard to look at, to analyze.

When she was done with the man, she stood and turned to Edward, her face a wide, expectant smile, as though she was waiting for praise. He wanted to give it to her. She had, after all, just been following her baser instincts and had successfully completed the hunt. But it was that contrast, this Bella's pale skin spattered with crimson blood to match her eyes, now burning and bright with the thrill of the hunt, the exhilaration.

He nodded, one short movement. That was all the approval he could offer her at this point. She smiled again and strode over to him, her movements graceful, nearly a dance, and took his hand, pulling him with her out of the ally.

"Let's go home," she said, taking off at a run, leading him back to Chambrey.

---

"You know Charlie's still in Oregon, with no idea what's going on?" Jasper said, staring at the phone in his hands as the four of the remaining Cullens lounged in the living room. "Peter and Charlotte are wondering when they can leave the area."

"Oh jeez," Alice groaned. "I didn't think about that, with everything that's been going on. What are we going to do?"

"Kidnap her," Jasper said.

"What?" Esme asked, looking confused.

"I mean, fake a kidnapping at Chief Swan's house. They'll give up on her, after a while."

"That is so cold, Jasper," Carlisle said.

"You have any other ideas? I guess we could just return her to her bedroom, as a raging newborn, to wreak havoc on Forks and in all likelihood kill Charlie when he gets back, and let her live with that," he said.

"When you put it like that," Esme muttered, looking at Carlisle.

"Fine," he said after a moment's pause. "We'll go and take care of that. Edward can stay here with Bella in the meantime. They have a lot to work through."

"That, or they'll kill each other," Jasper said. Esme's eyes swung to him, alarmed. Carlisle opened his mouth to speak but Jasper held up a hand. "Yeah, I know, cold." He paused for a moment. "But true."

---

**AN**: If I am to stick to canon, I will have to, at some point, throw in some smut. I am not excited about this. I am actually quite intimidated by the idea. However, there are two kinds of stories out there: stories that are enhanced by smut and stories that are ruined by it. Which category do you as a reader think this story falls into? Basically, should I actually write the scene, or just hint at it? Intimidated as I am, I will do whichever one would be best. It's also a matter of personal tastes: do you enjoy a little smut with your plot, or no? But if it will ruin the story, do not let me do it. XD

So, once more, all feedback is greatly appreciated, all reviewers will receive a preview of the next chapter (I promise to do it right this time, haha), and ten reviews will get the next chapter early! :D


	11. Questions and Answers

**The Road Not Taken  
**Annaleise Marie

**Chapter Eleven**: Questions and Answers

**AN**: So I feel like my grip on this story slipped a bit last chapter. I _will_ recover it, so once more, please have faith in me. Although, with the support I've received on this story, I don't feel like I really have to worry too much with you guys. :D

Although, I did get a lot fewer reviews on the last chapter than the ones before it. I don't know if that means I suck, or a lot of people just didn't happen to review. I'm hoping for the latter. D:

Soooo... first chapter with Bella and Edward alone together. For a while, anyway. Hmm. What shall happen? Let's find out!

I own five incredibly expensive books to prepare me for a profession that I'm not sure I'm even interested in, but I do not own Twilight. That belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

---

"Where is everyone?" Bella asked. The house was silent, and the trail of the Cullen's scents was fading. Edward shrugged, turning on the foyer light and moving towards the living room. "Don't you care?"

"They'll be fine," he said, sitting down on the couch and stretching his legs out on the coffee table. "Our kind... We can live together, like we do, but it's not unusual for us to go off on our own. They'll be in touch." He looked at Bella, who was standing in the entryway, shifting from one foot to the other. "Aren't you going to sit down?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I'm... I'm having trouble staying still, okay?" Bella said, and Edward noticed with relief that she had the same embarrassed look she had so often displayed as a human. If she had been able, he was sure she would have blushed. He knew it was probably the calm before the storm, but it was somehow comforting, nonetheless. "Can I ask you something?" she asked suddenly. He nodded. "Who are you?"

He gaped at her, shocked by the question.

"Wait," he said. "You mean to tell me that you beat the shit out of me, and you don't even remember who I am?"

"I remember knowing you... And I remember a few things about you," she started slowly, looking at the ground. "But I don't remember who you are." Edward was silent, mulling over this information. "I know that you're important," she added quietly. Edward smirked.

"I don't even know where to start with this," he said, running his hand through his hair.

"Start with your name," she suggested.

"You don't even remember... Edward Cullen," he said quietly. "My name is Edward Cullen."

The name pulled at something in Bella's memory, but it was still dark, indistinct, as though she were seeing it through the mesh of a screen door.

"Why do I hate you?"

"You really hate me, then?" Edward asked quietly, his eyes trained on the far wall rather than her.

"I don't know," she admitted. "It's hard, right now, for me to know what I'm feeling. All I know is... I don't trust you, and I feel like there's a reason."

Edward didn't know how to answer that. Faced with these questions, he felt like he'd almost rather she began throwing him around the room again. They were both silent for what felt like a very long time.

"Okay... then how do I know you?" she asked. Edward shook his head. This was just ridiculous. He knew that it took awhile for memories to resurface – Alice had never been able to recall her human life – but the fact that she had forgotten him almost entirely was ridiculous. "Look, I'm trying to make these questions easier to answer, so couldn't you just meet me halfway, or something?" Bella demanded. Edward sighed.

"We were in love," he said simply.

"Are we married?"

"No."

"Is that why I'm mad at you?"

"It's not that simple, Bella."

"Then why am I mad, or hurt, or whatever?"

"It's complicated."

There was a loud crack as the side of Bella's fist made contact with the doorway.

"Stop avoiding my questions!" she shouted. "I'm just trying to make sense of what's happening! Do you have any idea what it's like to wake up one day and not know what the hell is going on? And here you are, and you know, and you won't give me just the tiniest of answers!"

"What you're asking for are not _tiny _answers," Edward replied calmly.

"You owe me," Bella hissed, moving quickly across the room, leaning over the table, resting her hands on the flat surface and forcing him to look at her.

"Do I?" Edward asked calmly. He didn't want to rehash everything that had happened. It wasn't like it could be changed, and they had other problems to deal with now.

"Yeah, I'd say you do," Bella answered, thrusting her hand out to him. For a moment, he expected her to strike him, but then she saw that she was holding her hand up for him to inspect. There, on the palm, was a faint crescent-shaped scar. She turned her hand over to show a matching one on the other side. "You did this to me, didn't you?"

"I didn't do it _to_ you," he answered coldly. "You asked me for _months_ to change you. I told you it wasn't a good idea."

"But something went wrong, didn't it? Otherwise you wouldn't have apologized to me this morning," she said. So she _had_ heard. Edward was surprised. She had given no indication that his words had gotten through to her.

"It didn't happen the way it should have. There was no reason to turn you... It went against everything that I believe, and everything that I've been taught since I was turned," he said quietly.

"But you loved me?" she asked quietly.

"Yes."

"And you loved me all the way up until you turned me?"

"Yes."

"Then how can you say there was no reason to? Did you think you would stop loving me? Didn't you want to be with me forever?" her mind was racing. She had wanted answers, but now she was having trouble focusing on them. Forcing her mind to absorb the information was difficult when each answer sent even more questions racing through her mind.

"I could have allowed you to be happy, as a part of my family, for the rest of your life, without risking your soul, or damning you to our kind's life. And when your life was over, I would be the only one suffering. I would have done that, until I realized how selfish even that was."

"Selfish? What? All you've told me about are your own decisions. What I wanted obviously meant nothing, so why did _that_, of all things, strike you as selfish?" Bella demanded.

"Because by staying with you, even with you as a human... _especially _with you as a human," he amended, "meant putting you in constant danger. So I left."

"You left because I was in danger as a human? Why? Why not change me?"

"You're not listening."

"No, I don't think that's the problem," Bella said, her voice tight. "The problem is that you're not making any sense! You're one giant walking contradiction!"

"Because I didn't want to end your life?"

"Because, if everything you say is true, you're dead set on making yourself and everyone around you miserable so that you can play the pitiable martyr!" Bella said. "Apparently, we were in love, and I wanted to be with you forever, and you wanted to be with me, so when you realize that I'm in danger as a human, you decide that you'd rather punish us both by leaving rather than doing what made sense and making me a vampire? Does that sound about right?"

"You're not thinking clearly. You're a newborn. It'll make more sense later, once you calm down," Edward said. Bella's eyes blazed in response, her teeth clenched tightly together.

"No, it won't, because..." Bella trailed off, trying to think past the irritation clouding her mind. "Because it is so nonsensical that I can't even find a word for it!"

"Because you've been a vampire so long that _clearly_ you are qualified to decide whether it would be fair to someone to take their life away in exchange for this," Edward sneered.

"Oh, you see, I'm starting to remember now," Bella said as her memories came slightly more into focus. "We were fighting because you're a pompous ass!"

"Do not _even_ start with that," Edward growled. "Look, no matter what led to it, we are where we are. What we really need to decide is where to go from here."

"And if I don't want to go anywhere with a pompous ass?"

"I don't really think it matters," Edward said, smirking. "I'm following you to the ends of the earth, remember?"

Bella let out an irritated growl, her fingers flexing as though she would have loved nothing more than to grab him and throw him once more across the room. Instead, her hand closed around the crystal votive holder on the coffee table and she hurled it across the room. It shattered as it hit the wall, taking a large chunk of the plaster with it.

"You are _insufferable_," she hissed.

"And you are just a little crazy right now. It's okay. I understand," Edward said, still smirking.

"You... What..." Her mouth opened and closed, but she couldn't make her racing mind form a coherent sentence. She wanted to break something, to rip it apart.

The front door slammed and Bella and Edward both looked around in surprise to see Emmett barreling into the room, a look of pure excitement on his face.

"I heard fury and property damage," he announced, glancing at the hole in the wall. "Are we fighting? I want to fight the newborn! Can I fight the newborn?"

"What are you doing? Didn't Carlisle tell you to leave?" Edward asked, his eyes narrowed.

"He told me not to be here when she woke up. She's awake. Now, please let me fight the newborn!"

"Emmett," Rosalie called as she followed him in. "Give it a rest." She stopped abruptly beside Emmett as her eyes fell on Bella. "Whoa! Get a load of those eyes!"

"It's nothing you haven't seen before," Edward sighed, keeping a careful eye on Bella, who seemed to be unsure of how to react to the situation.

"Not on Bambi, over there," she said with a laugh.

"Right, we get it, the eyes are weird on her. Can I fight her now?" Emmett asked, nearly dancing on the spot with anticipation.

"You want to fight me?" Bella asked, sizing Emmett up.

"You're not fighting her," Edward said, glaring at Emmett.

"I don't think that's your decision," he pointed out, grinning. "So, Bella, how about—"

He was cut off as Bella abruptly launched herself at him, knocking him back through the front door and sending him sprawling on the front lawn. He leaped to his feet, laughing, as she sped out of the house after him. She misjudged the distance and went sailing over his head, twisting around in midair to land facing him, but he grasped her ankle and pulled her down, slamming her to the ground.

She rolled over quickly, her leg flying up and catching Emmett squarely in the chest, sending him flying back into the porch railing.

"Okay, okay, that's enough," Rosalie announced, grabbing him by the back of his shirt as he jumped back up. "You cannot keep damaging this house." This was directed at Bella before she turned back to Emmett and added, "And you cannot help her."

"Rosie, come on, I don't get to fight newborns often," Emmett said pleadingly.

"No," Rosalie said with a note of finality.

"Edward, tell her to let me fight Bella!"

"I thought that wasn't my decision?" Edward asked, joining them on the porch. "Where is she, anyway?" he asked, looking around.

"She was here a second ago," Rosalie said.

"Great. You guys got caught up in fighting and lost her."

"Hey, we didn't lose her. That would mean we went somewhere. _She left_," Emmett defended, crossing his arms across his broad chest.

"Useless," Edward hissed as he leaped from the porch and hit the ground running, following along Bella's fading scent trail.

"You know, this family has gotten _very_ bipolar lately," Rosalie sniffed as Emmett snorted a laugh.

"Nah, Rosie, the tension is pretty constant."

---

Charlie Swan opened the door to his house, sifting through the mail he had grabbed from the box on the way up the walk. By the look of the postmarks, no one had checked the mail in two weeks. Bella must have taken after her mother.

"Bells, I'm—" He stopped in his tracks, struck silent by the sight that met his eyes.

The house was wrecked. Bookshelves were turned over, lamps lay shattered on the floor, the couch sat crooked, two feet from where it had been, the wooden legs leaving long scuff marks along the hardwood floor, and the television had been knocked to the ground beside its stand, the screen cracked.

"Bells?" he shouted, turning and running up the stairs, broken glass crunching under his feet. The upstairs hallway wasn't much better off then the living room, save that it had less furniture, but even the one small table that sat against the wall between his room and Bella's had been knocked over, the picture of himself, Renee, and Bella as a child had fallen to the floor, the glass shattering as the frame skidded across the floor.

Bella's door stood ajar, stopped from shutting completely by a broken hinge, a crack running down the center of the frame.

Charlie's heart thundered as he pushed the door open, horrified by the destruction he was met with. Not one thing in the room seemed to be in its correct place. The mattress, pulled halfway off of the box spring, appeared to have been cut into, its springs exposed and batting spilling from the pillow-top surface. The dresser was overturned, every drawer opened, and the desk was broken, the press-board side splintered and cracked. Charlie walked slowly into the room, taking in the broken window, the debris littering the floor, the CD player, broken at the hinges, the laser reader popped out and lying a few inches away.

He should call someone. He knew he should. But his worst fears, now that they had been confirmed, kept him rooted to the spot.

---

"This isn't right," Carlisle muttered from his place with the others in the large tree outside Bella's window.

"What would you have us do? We can't exactly just explain to him that his daughter's a vampire," Alice said softly.

"Still, he shouldn't have to live the rest of his life thinking that she's being brutalized, or that she's dead. Imagine what that must feel like," Esme said.

"Maybe one day, when Bella's older, more in control, more able to handle being around humans, and pretend to be one of them, she can come back. You know, allow herself to be recovered," Alice said hopefully.

"You really believe that?" Carlisle asked.

"Bella's future is very uncertain right now, between her new nature, and Edward, the Volturi – all of that. But it's definitely a possibility. I'd like to believe it's even probable."

---

**AN**: Fun fact – I've found that for this story, despite the fact that we're currently in the _New Moon _era, _Breaking Dawn _has proven to be a more valuable resource for information.

As for Bella's memories – there's a reason that she's having trouble remembering things, past the "normal" newborn confusion (ex: Bella being confused about the names for things, such as the diamond in her ring). It will be explained in time. Possibly a long time, but, well, hang in there. :D

And before anyone starts in on Bella and Edward's interactions, yes, I am aware it's not canon. It's a result of Bella's newborn nature. It will settle. I promise.

Also, I've decided what I'm going to do about the smut – Twilighted also hosts this story and, being an adult fanfiction site, is much more smut-friendly. Although I'm sure there are underage people trolling about on there (hell, I was one when I was a wee seventeen year old), there are definitely more underage readers here. I differ to morals. This site will have a different version of those chapters, in which the sexeh times are hinted at, and Twilighted will have the full scene. You guys can go over there, if you want the whole thing. It's not an issue just yet though. :3

So now, the usual, reviews are greatly appreciated, each reviewer will get a preview of the next chapter (which will revolve around the good people of Forks, for the most part), and ten reviews will get you the chapter earlier. You know the drill! :D


End file.
